KANSAS CITY, Mo — The Grooming Project changes women’s lives through career training one dog at a time. 

These women are dealing with various issues like substance and alcohol abuse, legal issues and losing their children.  

Barbie Daniels is their caseworker. She’s a woman with her own past, but she uses her story to inspire women that there is hope for the future.

“And everybody who has met Barbie Daniels can tell you she’s changed their lives,” Amy Hall said. “She paved the way for me to get sober, graduate from the program, and now I’m an instructor. She taught me how to be a woman.”

Several of the groomers nominated Daniels for the Pay It Forward $400 gift card.

“She’s really helped me with a lot, including getting my kids back,” Jeanne Denison said. “She really turned my life around.”

And we turned Daniels’ morning around when we surprised her with the gift card.   
After some hugging and tears of happiness, she talked to FOX4.

“This is not a job to me,” she said. “This is an honor to be here with you ladies. Thank you for everything you do!”

The Grooming Project is the pilot program of Empowering the Parent to Empower the Child, a nonprofit that works to help families break the cycle of poverty.