A Passion for Giving
Bob Lindquist

After just a few minutes of talking with Carolyn Ford ’83 it is crystal clear that her life revolves around helping others, and she is deeply passionate about three things—dogs, skiing and Saint Anselm College.

“I made lifelong friends with my classmates at Saint Anselm College,” says Ford, executive director for the Merrimack Valley Nutrition Program in Andover, Mass., for the past 15 years. “It was an environment and culture where you felt, from president to professors, that you were a very valuable individual.

“The college wants you to succeed and gives you guidance on how to live in the world. They invest in you and they expect that you are going to invest back into the college and your community.”

In giving back to the college Ford serves on the alumni council, helps with high school recruitment, volunteers on a variety of committees and is a member of the President’s Society. She attends reunions and homecomings regularly and as many football and hockey games as she can fit into her schedule.

In addition to her dedication and commitment to her alma mater, Ford’s other loves are dogs, particularly training service dogs, and teaching adaptive skiing.

The first time Ford walked into an alumni council meeting with Chester, a black Labrador retriever, she raised more than a few eyebrows. Soon after though, Ford and her companions became a familiar and friendly sight. When she was invited to watch a Saint Anselm College hockey game from the president’s box, she took Jinx, a golden retriever along and hardly anyone noticed. She has visited campus for alumni board meetings, homecoming, or reunions, escorted by Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, or Boston terriers, and she receives hardly a second look.

All of Ford’s canine companions are on parole, or more specifically, they are enrolled in the Pups on Parole program run by the National Education for Assistance Dog Services (NEADS) that helps train dogs to assist people who are hearing impaired or use canes, walkers, crutches or a wheelchair.

The dogs are trained by inmates at minimum security prisons during the week. Ford is part of an army of volunteers who take the dogs on weekends to continue their training and get them used to daily occurrences such as traveling, being in crowds, sudden noises, and unfamiliar situations.

“It’s really important for the dogs to be prepared for situations they will encounter when they are on the job,” says Ford. “They can’t do that in the prison, so we do it in our communities on the weekends.” Not only does Ford bring her dogs to meetings and sporting events, she takes them to the mall, the grocery store, on public transportation—everywhere she goes.

“Once in a while people object to you bringing a dog, but once you tell them what you’re doing, they are very understanding,” she says.

While most of the human volunteers in the Pups on Parole program commit for a solid year, Ford takes the winters off to pursue her other passion, skiing. But she doesn’t just ski—she is a volunteer coach (certified) and instructor at the White Mountain Adaptive Ski School at Loon Mountain, where she teaches skiing and snowboarding to handicapped and disabled people of all ages.

“My favorite lesson is guiding the blind,” she says. “There is a total trust factor and you have to have a voice that shows confidence.”

“It’s pretty neat stuff,” she says. “The students have a determination and commitment to overcome their disabilities. They want to learn and have fun, and skiing gives them a sense of independence and freedom.”

“I get so much out of working with these kids,” she says, “they are truly inspiring to me.”