Kids and Dogs Enriching Each other’s Lives Co-founders Henry Van Nostrand and Tricia Sutton came up with the idea of Paws for Kids for Paws in late 2016 after Henry saw how much working with her dogs helped one of her neighbor kids. We decided to help kids (focusing on middle and high school ages) build positive experiences, leadership skills, and social and emotional learning, self-esteem and compassion, by helping assess and train shelter and rescue dogs. The dogs will be better able to find the right fit for their furever homes too! Paws for Kids for Paws is a community-based youth development, educational, & charitable organization. We inspire kids and dogs to build leadership & social skills together through a network of handlers, rescues, shelters, educators, and youth groups who create and deliver educational programs. We are incorporated as an Illinois Not-For-Profit Corporation and have submitted the application to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status, expecting formal approval in mid 2018.