Behind the Curtain - with Josie Gavieres, Founder, BARK

Guests: Josie Gavieres, Founder - BARK, Beach Animals Reading with Kids. BARK is a non-profit, volunteer program that provides certified therapy dogs to elementary schools and libraries where children read out loud to the calm, nonjudgmental dogs.    BARK began with three dog teams at Bryant Elementary School in Long Beach in September 2007 and now has 76 teams in 40 locations in the greater LA and OC areas.

Reading out loud is crucial because kids need to say every word rather than reading to themselves and skipping the words they don’t know.   Many kids are intimidated by reading out loud in class due to being  shy, poor readers, or embarrassed about their appearance. BARK works with children who are  behind in their reading skills,  lacking in self-confidence, or those who do not participate in class.  Sometimes they work with kids who have suffered some trauma or have a difficult home situation as well as those with autism and Aspergers.  At one school, they work with hearing impaired children who sign their words to the dogs.

-------------- About Behind the Curtain: In the "Wizard of OZ" there was a man behind the curtain who showed people that they already had everything they needed and desired... We've created a BlogTalkRadio program where our guests include those hero's and champions who dedicate themselves to make a difference with people and our animal companions. Most of these organizations are well known and make amazing differences in their communities, but the people behind the curtain, those that spend countless hours, often don't seek the spotlight and we want to share their stories and passion with you.