Australians have responded generously to MacKillop’s Paw Pals Appeal, donating to ensure children at risk of disengaging from education have the skills to succeed in the classroom.
Thank you to everyone who supported the program this year!
Over $140,000 was raised in 2025, assisting our 20 therapy dogs and their 15 facilitators to reach students at risk in Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, and Ballarat. The funding will be used to assist with the costs of running individual and group sessions.
The funds will also ensure the dogs are well-trained and in top form to do what they do best – offering a compassionate, calming presence that students can draw on to boost their confidence, self-regulation, and behavioural management.
Working alongside our trained therapy dogs, our Paw Pals facilitators offer a planned and structured student intervention with academic and educational goals tailored to each child and young person they work with. The program provides a positive learning environment which supports students to quickly develop trust and self-esteem as an independent learner. With their new-found confidence, they learn and embrace new tools that support them to address their individual challenges, so they can return to the classrooom and reconnect with learning.
Our Paw Pals facilitators work within a trauma-informed framework using the Reframing Learning and Teaching Environments (ReLATE) model and understand the impact of developmental trauma on a student’s learning and education.
It’s not too late to donate or share our Paw Pals Appeal and help us reach our goal of $160,000.
