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Just being around friendly, well-trained pets can bring smiles, calmness and brighten a day for families and children coping with stressful situations. Families with children undergoing medical treatment and staying at one of the Valley’s three Ronald McDonald Houses of Central and Northern Arizona (RMHC-CNAZ) experience those challenges, sometimes daily.
To help ease that stress, RMHC-CNAZ has launched a Pets as Friends program for volunteers with well-trained and certified pets through Pet Partners or Alliance for Therapy Dogs to bring their dogs to the campuses “simply to spend time with the children and families staying with us,” said Executive Director Nancy Roach.
Volunteers in the program will bring their dogs into the House’s family room or library during dinner time “so families and children can pet them, play with them and be around them to give them a bit of comfort,” Roach said.
Pets as Friends visits will take place between 5:30 and 7 p.m. on designated evenings. Volunteers accepted into the program must provide certification of accreditation and commit to the program for a minimum of six months.
For more information or to register for the Pets as Friends, contact Volunteer Manager Helain Day at (602) 798-5093 or at hday@rmhccnaz.org.
For more information, visit www.rmhccnaz.org.
I had a great visit with Nancy Roach and Helaine Day from the House and would love to have you give it a listen! Find out about the Pets program and lost of other volunteer opportunities for you and your family or co-workers. You can click below to listen