The P.A.W.S. Program is a well-known and loved program that is utilized in many ways throughout Carbon and Emery counties to spread comfort and joy through Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT).
The acronym P.A.W.S. stands for People and Animals Working to Serve and is a program of Active Re-Entry. The pups used in the program are therapy animals and they are taken to care centers, elementary schools, libraries and more for visits with the community.
The program, run by volunteer coordinator Kathryn Kilbourne, is a volunteer pet therapy program. Animals must pass a skills and aptitude test and enjoy interacting with people and other animals to be a part of the program. To learn more about P.A.W.S., contact Kilbourne at (435) 637-4950 or kathrynk@arecil.org.
Kilbourne also hosts the Friendly Visitor program at Active Re-Entry. This program provides visits by trained and screened volunteers to individuals that are homebound, isolated and generally in need of companionship.
Those that volunteer to be a friendly visitor may also provide respite care, shop for the individuals and run other errands and are also able to provide links to other various community services. Along with the in-person visits, friendly phone calls may also be made.
The program is always in search of volunteers that are eager to brighten someone’s day. Those that wish to volunteer may also contact Kilbourne at the aforementioned avenues. Volunteer training will be provided at Active Re-Entry.
