Number of Participants: 50
Hours Donated: 2
Value of Time Served: $845
Event Type: Civic & Community
Sport: Schools
Date: December 8, 2020
Location:
North Bellmore
NY, USA
About:
As early as kindergarten, students at Park Avenue Elementary School in the North Bellmore School District learn about the importance of charity. The two kindergarten classes recently participated in a service project to collect goods for local animal shelters.
For their first service project of the year, students in Melissa Reime’s class collected items for Last Hope Animal Rescue, which has an adoption center in Wantagh. Items included bath towels, cat scratchers, food, grooming brushes, leashes, nail clippers, pet wipes and toys. She said the idea was suggested by one of the class mothers.
Just before Thanksgiving, Ms. Reime was joined by two students and their mothers to personally deliver the items. They even stayed to meet some kittens and puppies that are up for adoption. The good deed even earned the class a special shoutout on Last Hope’s Facebook page.
Anne Griffin’s kindergarten class also collected pet supplies, which were donated to Last Hope’s neighbor, the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter. The collection had a personal connection for students, as many have pets at home.
Ms. Reime and Ms. Griffin both said that students were excited to donate to help out animals who are up for adoption. The goal of the service project was for children to shift from an inward focus on themselves to an outward focus on others.
“Through this process, children develop a stronger sense of compassion, empathy and personal responsibility,” Ms. Reime said. “By providing service learning opportunities to our children, we allow them to develop skills in critical thinking, create positive relationships, increase public awareness of community issues, and develop a deeper understanding of themselves and empathy and respect for others.”
Photo caption: Park Avenue Elementary School kindergarten teacher Melissa Reime and two of her students, Gianluca Milack and Deacon DeLucia, right, dropped off items from the class pet supply collection at Last Hope Animal Rescue’s adoption center in Wantagh.
Photo courtesy of the North Bellmore School District
