It just feels so Doggone Good!
Who came up with the old adage “Never work with animals or children”? I’m sure many of us disagree. Whether you work with or care for little ones, animals, the elderly or the ill, we salute your unrecognized efforts! Yes, this dedication does come with it’s own myriad of challenges and stresses on the body and mind, however, we are rewarded tenfold with unique moments and a sense of contribution.
Earlier in the year ScuttleBugs purchased new nap-time linens and blankets for the center and we planned to donate a massive box-full to Goodwill. That was until one of our parents made the brilliant suggestion of donating them to an animal shelter instead. This increased the scope of what we could gather, and we were able to scrounge up a significant pile of towels, cushions and stuffed toys that had seen better days – but surely could still be well used and appreciated. Real creature basic comforts! We fully laundered everything and were ready to go.
After some research, we decided to bring our haul to the San Jose Animal Care Shelter. This is quite a large City run facility that also accepts animals whose owners no longer want or can care for them. Our Preschool and PreK classes also incorporated this off-site project into their animal themed curriculum. There is definitely a valuable learning element to share with your children here. While it wasn’t feasible to overload the shelter further with a field trip, our mom, her son, and I did go and spend some time there one afternoon. It was sad to see how many animals need a good home, but equally heartening to witness the positive results of their adoption program. We saw many happy families expanding their brood during our visit.
So we hope we’ve given you a good deed idea you can do with your family where everyone benefits. Happy “pay it forward”.
