Alumni Spotlight: Tails Wag for Roanoker Carol Willoughby | Virginia ...

Carol Boldman Willoughy. Photo by David Hungate.

Carol Boldman Willoughby studied art at Virginia Intermont from 1968-69, and like many college students, she had no idea of the career path she would eventually take. Moreover, she couldn?t foresee how her enterprising spirit and ability to synergize her talents and circumstances would someday serve to create her lifework.

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Willoughby describes herself as a non-profit entrepreneur deeply committed to improving the lives of those in need. Her calling began to take shape at age 22, when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and later got her first service dog for assistance with mobility. In 1996, Willoughby co-founded Saint Francis Service Dogs in Roanoke, Va., a non-profit organization that has grown from a kitchen table operation to an internationally accredited program with a state-of-the art facility.

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Willoughby?s vision to found an organization for training and placement of service dogs came about after several career counseling sessions and much self-exploration. ?Going into this, I knew my strengths but quickly learned what I didn?t know,? she quipped.

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Interestingly, Willoughby draws on her liberal arts studies, crediting her English teacher, Linda Creasey (who retired in May 2012 after 39 years of teaching at VI), for her strong encouragement in writing and frequent essay and poetry assignments.

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?To do what I do, it?s essential to be able to communicate well and create awareness through writing, speaking and coordinating resources,? said Willoughby.

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Things fell into place as Willoughby assembled a board of directors for Saint Francis Service Dogs and garnered strong community support for initial seed money. She continued to raise funds and grow in-kind donations ? from enlisting the Boy Scouts to help paint donated office space to bringing in Virginia Tech students to provide architectural design assistance for a planned training center.

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?People understood the dream and wanted to help. I?m not an aggressive fundraiser, but I was able to share my vision and passion,? she said. ?I don?t ask for a dollar amount, I give an overview of what?s needed. And amazingly, we raised nearly one million dollars in three months to buy the 18-acre property we?re currently on.?

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The work is incredibly rewarding says Willoughby, because ?it touches lives in so many directions ? not only people with disabilities, but our trainers and volunteers. We are making a difference in the lives of inmates who train the pups, then get out of prison and come back to volunteer. We?re constantly training the dogs for new tasks and conditions, such as warning for seizures coming on and change in body chemistry, like diabetes sugar levels.

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?No matter how people are involved they are thankful. Dogs make a difference, but it?s a people organization.?

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Willoughby was recently featured in The Roanoker Magazine as one of ?12 Heroes ? ordinary people with extraordinary abilities that make Roanoke a better place.? But she deflects that with, ?The whole community got behind us and gave to make this happen.?

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Today Willoughby serves as an advisor to Saint Francis Service Dogs and continues to help promote the cause through appearances, public speaking and media interviews. She recently accepted a position with a media organization as Director of Humanitarian Alliances, in which she will help raise awareness and financial support for many charities, including Saint Francis Service Dogs. Willoughby is also a short story writer, having published in Chicken Soup for the Soul. She has two grown children and lives in Roanoke with her husband and 4th service dog, a golden retriever named Midas.

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About Saint Francis Service Dogs: With more than 400 volunteers, the organization raises and trains service dogs free of charge for children and adults with disabilities. A recently established program provides service dogs for veterans. Volunteers and prison inmates raise the pups. Accredited by Assistance Dogs International, Saint Francis serves the entire state of Virginia and communities within a 300-mile driving radius of Roanoke.

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Source: http://vic.edu/2012/08/10/news-highlights/alumni-spotlight-tails-wag-for-roanoker-carol-willoughby/

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