Video courtesy of FMK Agency.
Pet Care That Unleashes Human Potential
Since 2016, Pawsperity has been helping uplift families from generational poverty through job training in the art of dog grooming.
The idea came from a collision of worlds from Natasha Herdman, Founding CEO. In 2011, while working with homeless families in Kansas City, Herdman was examining all the barriers these families had to secure employment. She took a call from her mother, a lifelong pet groomer in Iowa, who told her that she would take any warm body who walked through the door—she just needed someone.
Pawsperity By the Numbers
96
of students have a job placement by the time they graduate
10,000
is the average annual salary of students entering our program
47,000
is the average annual income of our graduates
154
students have graduated from Pawsperity since 2016
Growing up, Herdman took care of the marketing and bookkeeping for her mother’s business. She knew that the pet grooming industry was lucrative, rapidly growing, and had the flexibility parents needed to take care of their children. It didn’t require a GED and was a felon-friendly career. It provided the healing effects of the human-animal bond. That’s when it clicked. Pet grooming was the perfect trade for these families she worked with.
We believe that every individual deserves the opportunity to break free from the cycle of poverty and become self-reliant. We provide hands-on job training and soft skills courses to prepare our students not just for their careers, but for their lives going forward. Students receive courses in mindfulness, parenting, professionalism, financial literacy and more to prepare them for life beyond Pawsperity. Students also receive wraparound services like case management, housing assistance, food assistance, and medical care to help remove any barriers to completing the program.
Over the course of six-months, students receive 790-hours of hands-on grooming training where they learn the fundamentals of bathing and brushing dogs as well as advanced scissor and clipper techniques. Complementing those courses is 92-hours of life skills instruction such as financial literacy, parenting, mindfulness, and job preparation. Students will complete a resume, portfolio, and interview practice before they’re connected to our vast employment network.
Once students graduate, they continue to receive 18 months of support in our Bridge Program which provides job placement assistance, continuing education opportunities, and on-going case management as required.
With every successful graduate, we reinforce the belief that when given the right opportunities and support, individuals can transcend their circumstances and achieve greatness. Together, we can build a community where every family can thrive.
