NBC sportscaster Andrea Joyce and her Golden Doodle, Reggie, are a pet therapy team with an organization similar to PAWS. They visit the Ronald McDonald House affiliated with the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Joyce’s husband, NBC News correspondant Harry Smith, talks about volunteering’s impact on both the patients and his wife in a recent article in USA Weekend.
“People who volunteer often agree in the beginning that they thought ‘they were doing something for others.’ It doesn’t take them long to realize they are the ones who are richer for the experience.”
“Sometimes the kids light up just from seeing Reggie. They get to hold and hug him. Often they start to talk about their pets back home. For a little while they don’t have to think about being sick or being away from school and friends. And while it might seem insignificant, it’s very powerful stuff. Not only for the children, but for Andrea, whose life is richer. And by extension, it enriches our entire family.”