Plymouth Schools Animal Shelter Project

Linda Shannon is a Library Media Specialist at the West Elementary School in Plymouth, MA
and her PTA was a recipient of a 2016 MSLA PALS award

During the month of May through June 12, 2016, all members of the Plymouth School Community are invited to take part in a voluntary, collaborative project to make a difference in the Plymouth Community by assisting the selfless people who give their time to manage the three animal shelters in town. Black Feather Horse Rescue, the Friends of the Plymouth Pound, and Helping Hands for the Plymouth Animal Shelter need our help in so many different ways. From volunteering, to donating, to fundraising, to raising awareness, and more, each of us can do something to help. Many of us have rescued animals through adoption or a simple phone call and have stories to share. Some of us volunteer already and have stories to share. Hopefully, many more of us will have amazing stories to share during and after this experience. The possibilities are endless and exciting, small and large, and lifesaving and life-affirming. The voluntary Project participants seek to bring school and community together in partnership to share resources, meet real community needs, and help to educate students to become the change agents of tomorrow. The Project participants do not seek to show animals in distress or champion a particular political viewpoint.

We have partnered with the Plymouth Public Library on the initiative, and they are happy to support us by collecting items for our local Shelters in the Children’s Room section of the Library. Items such as dog food, cat food, cleaning items, kitty litter, and more are needed. For a complete list, visit the wish lists on the shelter websites or the Plymouth Public Library website. The Public Library will also publish a list of Project resources on their website : http://www.plymouthpubliclibrary.org/children/. Those School Community members interested in becoming a part of this collaboration have many avenues to explore that can result in small projects, large projects or long term commitments. The three organizations that support animal rescue, Helping Hands (Plymouth Animal Shelter), Friends of the Plymouth Pound, and Black Feather Horse Rescue, have developed websites to include information on the various aspects of their valuable work and the ways in which you can assist them.

Their websites are:
http://friendsplymouthpound.org/
http://helpinghandsforpas.org/
http://www.blackfeatherhorserescue.org/
The Library Media Specialists in each building in the District are the Project liaisons. They are open to collaboration as well assisting staff, students, and visitors in locating and recommending resources. Each District school will be participating in various ways from fundraising, to book displays, to bulletin boards of student work in their buildings or in the Public Library. Check with your School to see what is happening. Any involvement of people who work together for a common goal will make a difference.

The Project goals are:

• to help each Shelter equally in diverse ways;
• to enrich student learning by enabling them to use and enhance critical thinking skills through a community service project experience;
• to enable students to provide needed assistance to Plymouth agencies and to the animals served by the agencies;
• to provide students with diverse leadership experiences inside and/or outside the classroom;
• to encourage students to be involved citizens in their Community;
• to offer parents and other members of the Plymouth Community the opportunity to support and assist students in community service; and                                      
• ​to create a database of k-12 Project-related resources.

Our driving question is as follows:

What can we/I do as a Community group or member to give back and make a difference by supporting the three animal shelters in Plymouth?

For a general search with pertinent, specific ideas go to:

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=projects+for+kids+about+animal+rescue
For additional specific ideas/models check the following sites:

http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-getting-started-resources

https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2014/01/09/honoring-mlk-day/

www.rootsandshoots.org/projects/search/animals%20shelter?f[0]=im_field_rnsp_focus%3A5
Be Kind to Animals: Encouraging Compassion through Humane Education | Offices of the American Library Association

http://janegoodall.pearsonfoundation.org/engage/elementary/sample-elementary-project-what-would-it-be-like-to-live-in-an-animal-shelter/

http://www.animalhumanesociety.org/education/school-and-service-projects

http://www.sspca.org/program-services/volunteer-program/community-services-for-students-scouts/

http://www.harfordshelter.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/community_service_project.pdf

http://theshelterpetproject.org/who-we-are/

http://www.lollypop.org/site/c.clKUI9OQIoJcH/b.7925875/k.5441/Start_a_Youth_Service_Project.htm#.VLgoSNLF_To
http://rvspca.org/foster/youth-activities/

Thank you for considering helping to support our animals in need.