Animal Welfare Professionals

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  • 1.  High school liaison student

    Posted 01-11-2023 02:25 PM
    Hello!

    We are always trying to find ways to involve the community and would like to have a High School Liaison student. The student might be involved with FFA, honor society, etc., and attend a few board meetings, committing for a year (September-August). 

    I was wondering if other shelters/rescues have done this and what it involved. Did you have by-laws? 

    I have students involved from three area high schools but have struggled to get students from our own town involved. We hope that by having a liaison we can offer something of interest to students leaning toward animal care/sciences and have the student offer fresh perspective. There have been students that completed their silver service hours with us but the past year the number has dropped.

    If you have such a liaison and are willing to share the information with us, thank you!
    #PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

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    Kate Williams
    Manager
    Animal Welfare Friends
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  • 2.  RE: High school liaison student

    Posted 01-17-2023 11:06 AM
    Hi Kate - Just last week I came across the neatest post in FB for San Antonio Humane Society  that I wanted to explore in my own area with the local high school.  The post is from around January 12, 2023 on their FB page and shows completed dog and cat houses (the neatest I've ever seen!) that were made by the the staff and students at Warren HS CTE Construction Electives program .   I have looked at San Antonio Humane Society's website and they appear to have some good programs involving students and I am going to reach out to them myself to see if they can share some information as to how they got involved with the Construction Electives program in their local schools and what information they may be able to provide.  I do have some local teens that have spent time with our resident cats in our animal rescue and read to them, spend time helping socialize them, and I even had one high school senior foster one of our incoming cats (under her parent's supervision) for a couple months while we made room for the cat as a permanent resident.  It was a great experience for the teem and her friends that would come visit.  I put out a request through my neighborhood FB page to get that started and one of the mothers in the community is actually a teacher at the local high school, so that helps get the word out.   Getting  local kids involved is so good for them in teaching them how to care for pets and the value it provides for their lives and the lives of homeless animals.  Good luck and I hope your program thrives!

    Kim Kanelopoulos
    The Grace Card, Inc.


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    Kimberlie Kanelopoulos
    Director
    The Grace Card, Inc.
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  • 3.  RE: High school liaison student

    Posted 01-17-2023 01:58 PM
    Thank you. I will check out the website.

    I reaches out to five area high schools. When my daughter was in high school, she and a group of friends would be in several times a week to do chores. They often would come as a group to walk dogs, socialize cats, and just relax. So I realized it was great for their mental health and reached out to the school counselors, who were more eager. We do have the alternative school students out here for chores, usually with cats. The dogs can be overwhelming to some of the students.

    We want to have a greater connection to the schools because we know the benefits of being with animals. Both for the person and the animal. Having a student liaison would be a great step forward for us!

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    Kate Williams
    Manager
    Animal Welfare Friends
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