PET VISITING
PAL CLUB AND PAL CAMP
PET LOSS comfort LINE
Pet Visiting
There are doctors, nurses, pharmacists.
Then there are the specialists.
Bringing comfort and companionship to people who need tender loving care -- particularly seniors in nursing homes -- are more than two hundred PAL volunteer owners and PAL volunteer dogs. Even with the best doctors and the best healthcare, people need something beyond pills and procedures. They need connection and meaning.
While PAL teams visit many types of sites, 85% of our visits are with the elderly; many of these elderly have Alzheimer’s or dementia, and our volunteers visit month after month, year after year. Most of the people we visit can't own a pet, which is a real loss to those who were devoted pet owners throughout their earlier lives.
The volunteers who visit are truly a generous and open-hearted collection of people and pets.
In 2008, 200 PAL certified volunteer teams brought comfort to people living at 24 sites − nursing homes, mental health facilities and began helping children learn to read at libraries and PAL Club − and more than 3,000 people got a wagging tail or delighted gaze more than 10,000 times throughout the Washington DC Metropolitan area.
By December 2009, we will have 275 teams visiting.
This is important work -- the senior population in the U.S. will double in the next thirty years, meaning more people will be in need of affection. PAL is working hard to expand our volunteer pool so we can better meet this need.
If you drop by any of the places below, you might see a PAL dog bringing smiles and laughter.
Arleigh Burke Pavilion Nursing & Assisted Living
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Burke Centre Library
Culpepper Garden
Episcopal Center for Children
Goodwin House Alexandria
Goodwin House West
Grand Oaks
Grand Oaks
IONA Senior Services
John Marshall Library
Knollwood Retirement Home
Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Retirement Home
National Rehabilitation Hospital
Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute
Knollwood Retirement Home
Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Retirement Home
National Rehabilitation Hospital
Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute
PAL Club and Camp at Stanton Elementary
Potomac Behavioral Health
Potomac Behavioral Health
Pohick Regional Library
Sherwood Library
Sibley Hospital Center
Stoddard Baptist Home
St Colleta's of Greater Washington
St Mary's Court
Veterans Administration Medical Center
The Washington Home
Woodbine Rehab & Healthcare
Sibley Hospital Center
Stoddard Baptist Home
St Colleta's of Greater Washington
St Mary's Court
Veterans Administration Medical Center
The Washington Home
Woodbine Rehab & Healthcare
PAL After-School Club and Summer Camp
THERE ARE TEACHERS, TUTORS AND WORKSHEETS.
THEN THERE IS PAL CLUB AND PAL CAMP.
Kids are naturally curious about animals and at PAL Club and Camp, we give kids the chance to explore and learn. Kids meet and care for dogs, rabbits and reptiles. Children read books about squirrels, habitats and the environment. They go bird-watching and bug-catching. They go to the zoo, the Smithsonian museum and canoe on the Anacostia River.
And, importantly, the children practice animal-friendly behavior – talking quietly, listening closely, and petting softly.
For low-income children struggling with gaps in their academic, social and emotional skills, the animal-centric PAL Club and Camp builds on the children's natural affinity for animals to stimulate scientific inquiry, improve reading and math, and reward good behavior.
As a year-round program, it makes a unique, long-term commitment to children and their families.
Located in Southeast DC at Stanton Elementary, PAL is helping ensure all children begin life with a solid academic foundation and meet or exceed national No Child Left Behind Standards. Stanton is under new leadership, and its Principal, Dr. Donald Presswood, is working with compassion to end the achievement gap in a school where more than 80% of the students did not meet minimum standards in 2007. PAL is proud to support Dr. Presswood, the teachers of Stanton, and DC Public Schools and contribute to making Stanton a high performing school.
The after-school program and summer camp are offered in partnership with DC Public Schools Out-of-School Time Office, which provides space, security, janitors, and coordination. PAL Club runs after-school during the school year; PAL Camp runs for six weeks each day in the summer.
DC youth from the DC Office of Youth Employment provide helping hands at Camp in the summer, learning and growing alongside their younger neighbors.
PAL Club Partnership
PAL Club students love learning about animals, and thanks to a partner in our work, they also love learning about the blue and green spaces where animals live. PAL is partnered with the Anacostia Community Outreach Center's Blue Ocean and Green Space (BOGS) Project, a marine biology and earth science career and exploration project. BOGS exposes PAL Club students to careers in marine biology and environmental science, with activites such as field trips to wetlands and speaker visits.
This partnership is funded by the DC Office of the State Superintendent for Schools and the federal 21st CCLC program.
Pet Loss comfort line
The loss of a pet can be devastating, and people coping with the loss of a beloved companion need to find comfort. The Pet Loss Hotline connects grieving people to a grief therapist.Call the Pet Loss Comfort Line at 202-966-2171, and please leave a message after hours. Your phone call will be returned promptly.
