It began as a class conversation about helping others.
Amber Morvilius’s third and fourth grade students, Eric Rought, Vance Brodnik, AJ Pemberton, Alex Ely and Tyheed Johnson, decided they wanted to give something back to their community as well as benefit the Geauga Humane Society’s Rescue Village.
This multi-disciplinary project helped Cardinal Intermediate School students build their writing skills, math skills, science skills, life skills and helped teach social responsibility, said Julie Fulton, assistant principal at Cardinal Intermediate School.
Students wrote a letter to Middlefield Walmart, which helped provide the necessary supplies as students worked together to locate recipes for homemade pet treats, using their math and science skills to multiply and convert larger quantities of these recipes, she said.
The class also measured and produced multiple sizes of hand-tied pet beds to donate to the animals, and designed various cat toys, a project conducted in the classroom over a several week period, Fulton said.
“Students were very excited to be able to give something to those in need during this season of giving,” she said.
Due to the expansion project at the Rescue Village, they were not able to drop off their donations, but a representative came to visit the students at Cardinal Intermediate School and brought a special surprise.
“Certified therapy dog Boston, a Boston terrier, brought joy and wet kisses to the students,” Fulton said.
The students were impressed to learn that Rescue Village saves anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 animals a year, and happy to be able to lend a helping hand to the volunteers, she said.
They also learned about the different types of farm animals, pocket pets and domestic animals that are served by the shelter’s staff, Fulton said.
“The kids were ecstatic to know that not only will their pet beds comfort the cats and dogs, but that pigs also enjoy snuggling in them. They’re looking forward to visiting the newly renovated shelter in the spring, when they will share their reading abilities with the residents of the shelter,” she said.