People Animals Love (PAL) After-School Club and Summer Camp

People Animals Love (PAL) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that leverages the human-animal bond to solve pressing social problems, by improving the lives of the elderly and lonely, easing the pain of the sick, and giving at-risk children an opportunity to succeed.

Humans and animals form intimate, meaningful bonds, and PAL has been using that connection to serve the District for 29 years.

Throughout his career, Dr. Earl Strimple, a Washington, D.C. veterinarian, witnessed the power of the bond between animals and humans. Eager to explore other ways that society could benefit, he founded PAL in 1982.

Today, PAL provides the following services:

The Healing Paws Program, which links 280 volunteer/dog teams with facilities serving the elderly, the ill, and the lonely in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia;

The Pet Loss Comfort Line, which provides counseling and support for those grieving over a beloved pet, and;

The PAL After-School Club and Summer Camp, which offers year-round, animal-centric educational enrichment to at-risk children in Southeast D.C. 

PAL is recognized as the longest-running and most well-established animal-assisted wellness organization in the D.C. area.

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The PAL After-School Club and Summer Camp program at Stanton Elementary focuses on three goals: improving basic math and reading skills, increasing pro-social behavior and developing a love of learning and animals.

At a school where all of the children come from low-income families, the challenges to success are often daunting. 75% of the students are failing standardized tests, and severe behavioral issues make the learning environment difficult.

To help these students reach their potential, PAL Club is catering to children's natural curiosity and attraction to animals with an animal-centric curriculum. Through reading to PAL dog volunteers, interacting with visiting critters, taking field trips to the zoo, students learn positive behavior skills, such as empathy, compassion, and responsibility. Skilled teachers create a safe learning environment where children are praised for their hard work and receive help on homework. Making PAL Club a success requires the help of enthusiastic volunteers. We are in need of math and reading tutors, teacher's aides, classroom assistants (who set up the classroom, complete paperwork, and prepare activities), and pet owners willing to share their furry friend with others.

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