Humane Kids
Making a Difference Every Day!
Kids are always hearing about what they CAN'T DO because they are "just a kid". Well we are here to tell you about what kids CAN DO and ARE DOING to make a difference for the animals in our community!
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Leading By Example!
Alex Lockwitz, after talking it over with his mom, decided to to ask for donations for the Humane Society instead of presents for his eighth birthday. The shelter received over one hundred dollars plus cat food and litter. Alex and his family adopted a small dog named Pepe a few years ago, and want the shelter to be able to continue helping unwanted animals. Alex hopes that other kids will see what he did and will want to do the same for their birthdays. Alex is a shining example of a Humane Kid!
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Bowling For Pets!
Jennifer Narregan loves to bowl and wanted to incorporate that passion into helping another love of hers...Animals! Jennifer made up posters and initiated a donation drive at Lakeshore Lanes. She contacted all the leagues and asked them to bring in donations to help the Humane Society! Thanks to her efforts much needed food and supplies were collected! Jennifer is definiately a Smashing Humane Kid!
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Spooktacular Humane Kid!
Melissa Bradham wanted to do something to help the Humane Society Animals but she wanted it to be fun! So she had a Haunted Barn Halloween Party and asked the guests to bring donations for the Humane Society! Everyone had a spooktacular time and they were helping our homeless pets at the same time! Melissa is definately the most Spooktacular Humane Kid we know!
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Kids for Kritters!
Mrs. Otts class from New Buffalo Middle School raised $ 225.00 for the humane society collecting donations. They then came to the Humane Society for a tour and to learn more about the services that we provide and how they can be truly great "Humane Kids!"
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Humane Heros!
Nathan and Christopher Cole were celebrating but they wanted to share their happiness with those who needed it more. They asked their friends to purchase gifts for the homeless animals at the Humane Society and then brought their gifts to the shelter and got to meet some of the pets we have waiting for homes! Nathan & Christopher are truly Humane Heros!
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The Greatest Gift Is Giving!
Damon Grimm is a very special young man! Damon has learned lifes lesson, "It is better to give then to receive"! For the past couple of years Damon has opted to celebrate his birthday in an unusual way. Damon hosts a party but asks that instead of gifts for himself, that his friends and family donate gifts for the homeless pets at the Humane Society! Thank you Damon! You are a very special "Humane Kid"!
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Volunteering for Puppy Kisses!
Kristin Proctor is one of our wonderful kid volunteers who loves her job! Where else, but at the Humane Society, can you get smothered by hundreds of puppy kisses? Kristin gives generously of her time, walking dogs, playing with puppies and helping out where ever she can. Kids like Kristin are always welcome at the Humane Society, and with all those puppy kisses under belt she can't help but grow up to be a totally Humane Human Being!
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Cookies for Critters!
Logan Langmeyer of St. Joseph wanted to help the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan help the animals. His mom was having a rummage sale so Logan asked her to help him bake some cookies to sell at the Rummage so he could donate the proceeds to the animals! Logan made $20.00 and donated it to the Humane Society! Our thanks goes out to Logan who definately qualifies as a "Humane Kid"!
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Young Roadside Business Owners Help Pets!
Kyle & Ryan Steinke wanted to help the Humane Society help homeless animals and decided to take advantage of the Krasl Art Fair walking traffic to raise money to donate. They set up their roadside "store" at a family friends house, hung out their "business sign" and began peddling their wares! Their hard work paid off and they raised $63.28 to donate to the Humane Society! Kyle & Ryan are definately Humane Kids!
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Humane Birthday Giving by Hanna!
Hanna Norland age 9 (pictured in the middle) decided to celebrate and share her birthday by having a party with a twist! Presents would be brought for the animals at the Humane Society! After the party Hanna and her sister Claire age 5 (left) and her friend Katie Jo Gruchot age 8 (right) brought the donated presents to the shelter to drop off. While there they visited with many of our wonderful pets waiting for homes! Hanna's mom said that Hanna learned about the Humane Society and our needs at her school, Lincoln Elementary, during their "We Love Animals Drive", and wanted to do something to "keep the drive going"! Hanna has definately learned how to be a First Class Humane Kid!
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Stewart Elementary Kids have "Spirit Week" & The Animals Benefit!
Andy Shingledecker, 4th grade teacher at Stewart Elementary (Lakeshore Public Schools) dropped off $199.00 and a couple
of product donations, including litter, food, and dog treats.The $199.00 was raised by the student council during "Spirit Week". The students had to pay $1.00 if they wanted to wear slippers to school on "Slipper Day". What a cool idea and by the amount of money raised we are certain that Stewart Elementary School is chock full of Humane Kids!
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Humane Classroom Kids!
The 4th grade classrooms at Lincoln Elementary School in St. Joseph hosted a "We Love Animals Drive" to benefit the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan from January 1st through February 14th! Teachers Kelly Nimtz and Leah Alsbro incorporated the Humane Society, its role in the community, and its needs in helping homeless animals into their "Community Share" unit. Donation drives for needed items were combined with a Valentine Day Candy Sale and ended in an extremely successful campaign with over 700 items and $100.00 donated to the Humane Society to help us care for the pets awaiting adoption at our shelter! Pictured above our the delivery volunteers needed to transport all the items from the school to the Humane Society! Thank you Lincoln Elementary School showing that Humane Kids are alive and well in the classrooms!
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Moms Club Cares about Pets!
Moms Club of St. Joseph South is a group of "stay at home moms" who offer support and activities for the "moms" and their kids! They decided to include the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan on their tour route this year and brought in the kids to learn about the homless pets in our community and the role the Humane Society plays. We visited with the kitties and puppies, hurried through the noisy, happy dogs, and learned about how much food, litter, and cleaning supplies it takes to care for our pets. We ended the tour with a quick peek at the 2 day old kittens and proud mama kitty in our maternity ward! Thanks Moms Club for thinking of us so we could have the opportunity to reach a whole new generation of Humane Kids!
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Puppy Love! (And kids too!)
Kristin & Sarah Dolohanty love animals and they wanted to help the animals at the Humane Society. Kristin and Sarah had heard it takes a lot of money to run a shelter for animals, provide food and medical care for them, and find homes for them. So Kristin & Sarah raised money at a garage sale and also saved money in a special container they made and decorated. When it was full they brought it in and donated it to the Humane Society. Of course while there they couldn't help but visit with some of the loving animals awaiting homes at the Humane Society! Kristin & Sarah are top rate Humane Kids!
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A Humane Kid Angel!
The kitties at the shelter had been good boys and girls this year and had hung their stockings out with high hopes of a toy or treat. But they understood times were tough and Santa was real busy this time of year with human girls and boys. They didn't know that Santa had recruited one of his angel helpers, Maria Springs age 6, to fill in for him. Maria had been busy making kitty toys for our feline friends and delivered them in person during our Christmas Party for the Animals! Thank you Maria! We hope Santa was as good to you as you were to our homeless pets!
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"In the Spirit of Giving"
Julia Service wanted to help the Homeless animals in our community and when she heard about our Christmas Party for the Animals she decided she would bring a gift. But what did the animals need most? Julia realized that what the Humane Society needed most was money to take care of the animals and so she brought in the money she had earned for herself and donated it to the animals! Julia truly understands the meaning of the season, it is better to give then to receive. And the animals who will benefit from her donation are blessed to receive. Julia is a top rated Humane Kid!
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Santa Paw's Elf!
Claudia Maaseidvaag, age 10, wanted to help make the Humane Society's Christmas Party extra special and so she decided to bake "Santa Paw" treats for the dogs at the shelter! Claudia brought them in and passed them out during the Christmas Party for the Animals! Our adoptable pets love homemade goodies as much as we do and it was thoughtful of Claudia to think of them and take the time to make their party special! That makes Claudia a very special "Humane Kid" in our eyes!______________________________________________________________
Good Kid...GREAT HEART!
Cynthia donated $20 to the humane society- money that she earned herself. Here is the letter she wrote to the shelter. Thank you, Cynthia!!!
Dear animal rescuer people,
I love all the cool nice things that you are doing for the animals. I bet they really appreciate it. I love to help animals. It makes me feel better to know that there are people out there caring for the animals. I hope that when I grow up that there will be a big change.
I always help animals when they are starving on the streets, like the one animal I spent all my money on, this dog. It was starving, but then I called the police and they came and got it. And there was a bird that broke its wing. So I brought it home, but a few days later it died. I cried my eyes out.
I hope that when I get older that I can be just like you and that there will be more people like you!
Thank you!
Bye!
From: Cynthia
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Presents for the Animals!
Damon Grimm loves animals. And as his birthday rolled around he decided that he had so much more then the homeless animals at the Humane Society. So he decided to give up presents for himself, and instead asked that friends and family buy appropriate gifts for the animals at the Humane Society! Damon and his family brought all the gifts to the shelter in celebration of his special day and were rewarded with tons of puppy kisses and kitty purrs of appreciation! Damon Grimm is a First Class Humane Kid in our books!
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Pioneer Girls Walk Humane Trail!
The Pioneer Girls at Great Lakes Lutheran Church in St. Joseph invited Humane Society volunteers to give a presentation on pet care and responsibility so they could learn more about how to take care of the animals in our community. They then suprised our volunteers with a table full of donations for our homeless critters. It appears the Pioneer Girls are already learning the important lesson on how to be responsible and Humane Kids.
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Top Ten Humane Kid Rules!
- Humane Kids take care of their pets at home, making sure they have food and water, toys, warm shelter, and lots of play time!
- Humane Kids never tease, taunt, or throw things at animals.
- Humane Kids think about the animals that live in the wild and respect and appreciate their beauty and wildness and never try to tame a wild animal and make it a pet.
- Humane Kids think about the pets that don't have homes and think of ways to help them.
- Humane Kids learn about all types of animals and their needs and educates others through talking to them or school presentations and projects.
- Humane Kids report to an adult anyone they see hurting or not taking care of an animal.
- Humane Kids volunteer their time to help organizations that help animals.
- Humane Kids are considerate and respect all living things even if they are "icky" or scary".
- Humane Kids always ask for permission before they approach or pet an animal they don't know.
- Humane Kids never quit trying to help the animals who need them!