SOUL Buddies Animal Therapy Club

CLUB MEMBERS

We are excited for the 2026-2027 school year, our 9th year as an official club at Barrington High School! Thank you to our club sponsor Amy Winkelman (BHS Wellness) and to the SOUL Harbour Ranch Animal Therapy Program for mentoring this wonderful club!

During the school year, we meet every Thursday after School (except school days off)

A twice per month commitment is expected of all members.

ANNUAL BHS ACTIVITY FAIR SEPTEMBER 3, 2026 in the Main Gyn, Periods 1-8.

*Therapy dog teams will be present throughout the day.

KICK-OFF DAY: SEPTEMBER 17th, 2026 at BHS. We meet by the stairs near The Commons area.

To RSVP and join our club: Join via the StudentSquare/ParentSquare app: Barrington High School->SOUL Buddies Animal Therapy Club

WHO CAN JOIN: All BHS students are welcome!

MEETING/VISIT SCHEDULE for 2026-2027:

VISIT DAYS: 1st Thursday of the month is a visit in our Barrington Community *please dress in school colors, and/or wear SOUL Buddies sportswear. Students will need to obtain their own rides . *Students who also attend training will receive 1 hour of community credit for the visit. Students who don't attend training and show up for the visit only will not obtain 1 hour of community credit.

10/29/26 4-5pm: Pumpkins, Ponies & Puppies: our annual Halloween event with Barrington Youth & Family Services, 118 Applebee Street, Barrington (across from Jewel on Main St). Dress in costume and help handle our therapy animals.

11/5/26 3:45-4:30 Little Broncos visit at BHS: we will visit the Little Broncos classroom with our therapy dogs.

11/26/26 CHICAGO THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE: all SOUL Buddies students are invited to participate. We will leave from SOUL Harbour Ranch 22093 N Countryside Lane by 6am. Carpooling is available. Please call Jodie 847-477-7825 if SOUL Buddies Club students want to attend!

12/3/26 4-4:45pm Alden Estates of Barrington, 1420 S. Barrington Rd, Barrington: we will visit with our therapy dogs and therapy horses

1/7/27

2/4/27

3/4/27

4/1/27

5/6/27 LAST VISIT OF THE YEAR!

2nd and 4th Thursday of the month at BHS (dogs/cat): 3:30-4:45pm at BHS (therapy dogs) near The Commons *students should meet SOUL Harbour Ranch volunteers and therapy animals in the Main Street parking lot after school, then enter the lower level Main Street entrance

10/22/26

11/12/26

12/10/26

1/14/27

1/28/27

2/11/27

2/25/27

3/11/27

3/25/27 SPRING BREAK: NO SOUL BUDDIES

4/8/27

4/22/27

3rd (and 5th) Thursday of the month at the Ranch: 4-5pm at SOUL Harbour Ranch, 22093 N. Countryside Lane, Barrington IL

10/15/26

11/19/26

12/17/26 *CHANGE: Barrington Area Library Visit 4-5pm for Exam Destress Time!

1/21/27

2/18/27

3/18/27 *HALF DAY: still meet at SOUL Harbour Ranch

4/15/27

4/29/27

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The SOUL Harbour Ranch Animal Therapy Program loves teaming with Barrington High School and mentoring the SOUL Buddies Animal Therapy Club. The Club allows teens from Barrington High School to take part in fulfilling the mission of enriching lives by promoting the unconditional love and healing of the human-animal bond.

BHS students are teamed with mentors and animals from the SOUL Harbour Ranch Animal Therapy Program and learn how to become animal handlers for animal-assisted activities and therapy work. We believe whole-heartedly that involvement with our special animals and each other assists in the students’ futures as leaders in our community.

The SOUL Buddies Animal Therapy Club has the following goals:

Preparing BHS students for future animal-handling and leadership roles within their school, community and future professional opportunities.
Instilling a sense of pride and ownership through volunteering with our animal-assisted therapy program as well as collaboration, responsibility and teamwork.
Creating a sense of motivation to succeed while teaching the importance of personal drive and determination for a successful future through working with specially-trained therapy animals.
Teaching invaluable skills that are necessary for today’s workforce such as interpersonal skills, the importance of rules and regulations, personal responsibility, respect for others, customer service and a sense of pride in one’s work.
Fostering animal stewardship by demonstrating the highest quality treatment and respect toward all animals.
To enrich students’ lives by promoting the unconditional love and healing of the human-animal bond.
To provide opportunities for students to grow as future leaders by training and working with our volunteers throughout the year.
To prepare students to become registered animal-assisted therapy handlers through Pet Partners with our animals or their animals (animals belonging to students MUST be registered through Pet Partners to be a part of our club)

Requirements:

We host weekly training and/or visit sessions every Thursday after school (see schedule above). Training and visits will vary for location, including locations at Barrington High School, SOUL Harbour Ranch in Barrington and local community locations such as The Garlands, Sunrise of Barrington, Journeycare, Barrington Youth & Family Services, and others TBD.
Within the first 6 months of working with our animals, we recommend that students complete the Pet Partners Handler course (www.petpartners.org), with plans to test and become a registered therapy animal handler. We realize the busy schedules teens carry during their high school years and we do allow for flexibility while enforcing the required commitments.
Students must be willing to commit to twice per month/one-semester minimums.
The SOUL Buddies Animal Therapy Club allows students who have also done training sessions to earn community service hours for visits that meet school requirements while learning how to professionally interact with volunteers and those we visit.
We do not meet during the summer, but SOUL Buddies who have already trained with us are welcome to join the SOUL Harbour Ranch Animal Therapy Program at visits and training.

Interested in joining our SOUL team? See the ParentSquare/StudentSquare app: Barrington High School->SOUL Buddies Animal Therapy Club