Barbara and Woody: Reading as a harbinger for success in life
The teenage girl was huddled in the corner of the room sobbing. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her face was buried in her arms. Her eyes were red from tears and her heart raced. She started to shiver uncontrollably wondering how she would survive the torrent of emotions she was experiencing. Moreover, she didn’t know if she wanted to survive. Suddenly, she felt a series of nudges to her leg. She peeped though the slits of her puffy eyes to see Woody, a Labrador Retriever and Certified Therapy Dog. She lowered her knees and Woody placed his head on her thigh and gazed up at her with his soft brown eyes. Her breathing slowed as she placed her hand lightly on Woody’s head. Her tears stopped and she smiled.
Woody and his owner, Barbara Clark, visit Volunteers of America-Minnesota’s Avanti Center for Girls once a week as volunteers. The Center offers shelter, evaluation and treatment services for adolescent females who have emotional and behavioral problems. “Because he is so smart and has such a great personality, I thought that having Woody become a Certified Therapy Dog would be a great way to share him with other people and satisfy my desire for an ongoing volunteer commitment,” explains Barbara. “As I was going through the process of having Woody certified, I learned about Avanti. It’s right down the street from the Blaine Kennels where Woody is a regular. I called and talked to the program director about the Certified Dog Therapy program and we discussed how it might work at Avanti.” The rest is history.
Woody is able to participate in many different activities as a Certified Therapy Dog, but Barbara wanted to do something that involved strengthening reading skills because she believes that the ability to read is the foundation for success in school and in life. “Although the girls at Avanti are older than the children who would normally practice reading with a therapy dog, I felt that a reading program would still be a good fit because the girls sometimes come from home situations where education was not a priority,” Barbara explains. “The girls have a very wide range of reading skills, from far behind where they should be at their age, to very accomplished. They read to the group. This helps them strengthen their reading skills and also helps them develop confidence. Many of them suffer from low self-esteem and I try to help them understand that being confident speaking in front of other people is a skill they will find invaluable in life.”
Sometimes they don’t read, they just talk. Woody helps the girls feel relaxed and safe. For a short time once a week, they can forget about the bad things that have happened to them, or the difficulties they have experienced—and they can just be kids. “It has been amazing to see the impact that Woody has on the girls,” Barbara says. “Above anything else, they seem to respond to the unconditional love—something that many of them are missing. Woody seems to sense that, and he will go from one girl to the next giving lots of kisses and taking in all of the affection they can give, then going back for more.”
Barbara says she is inspired to volunteer because she believes it’s important to do what she can to help others live a better existence. “Volunteer work is important because it gets people involved in their community, and lack of caring and involvement is often at the root of some of our tougher societal problems,” Barbara states. “From a purely selfish perspective, taking time to focus on someone else’s needs rather than my own increases my own happiness. The satisfaction of having made a difference to an individual, or organization, is a great feeling. Sometimes I feel like I get as much or more out of the experience than the people I am helping.”
In addition to being Woody’s owner and therapy partner, Barbara Clark is Executive Director at Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly, a Minneapolis law firm where she is responsible for business operations and serves on the Community Service Committee. The firm is committed to community service and encourages employees to give back to the community through individual service and events organized by the firm. Each year, the firm recognizes top volunteers with its “Inner Fire Award.”