Volunteer Spotlight: Bill Barnard

Bill Barnard has fostered 25 dogs throughout his life. With his love and support, each dog has found an adoptive home.

“Yeah, that is a bunch,” said Bill. “But it has been pretty cool to have them in our home, and it has become a part of the routine for my wife and me.”

That said, there is no doubt that when Bill makes a commitment, he sees it through. This is why he waited until he was fully retired, had done extensive research, and spoken with others before taking on the role of a CASA Volunteer.

“Frankly, it’s a big deal,” said Bill. “Making a commitment to being a CASA is a different animal than most of the volunteer gigs that people do.”

Since June 2022, Bill has walked alongside a 15-year-old youth.

“Many people have said that they never hear him express himself,” said Bill. “I don’t think that is quite true. There are times when we’ve been together that he has chattered on about his past and what’s happened in school.”

Bill has seen the youth express himself artistically too, learning even more about him through his sketches.

“I love his creative process,” explained Bill. “He embraces the simple act of going outside the frame. He has a neat perspective, and I am hoping to get him to apply that kind of thinking to his life situation.”

For the past several months, Bill and the youth have worked on creating a vision board. Bill decided to meld together three variations of vision board strategies, further encouraging the youth to think outside of the box.

“As the youth began to sketch ideas that went along with his vision, he would occasionally look up at me and give me a little grin,” said Bill. “I thought, ‘Hey, that’s pretty cool.’ It was buy-in, it was ownership.”

This was just the start of the “pretty cool” moments shared by Bill and his assigned CASA youth. Bill is no stranger to celebrating the small wins. He has a knack for identifying strengths and honing in on them.

When Bill is not meeting up with his assigned CASA youth, he is nurturing the needs of foster dogs and volunteering with the Denver Area Wildlife Transport Team. Throughout these experiences, Bill continues to spend time understanding others, recognizing that this is the foundation to meaningful work.

“Most foster dogs who have come through our home have never been pets before – they were working dogs,” explained Bill. “They don’t really know how to be a pet, so we help them understand.”

Bill describes the “pretty cool” moments where this realization clicks for the dogs. They begin to understand what can be chewed on and what cannot. They expect mealtime. They lean into the affection and love provided by Bill and his wife.

As Bill continues to give these dogs a sense of self, a place to call home, and a person to lean on, he simultaneously continues to encourage his assigned CASA youth to shade his sketches more boldly, to use brighter colors, and to reach outside of the lines.

It is clear to anyone who meets Bill that his dedication and commitment to celebrating, supporting, and understanding others is what makes him especially cool.