PRESQUE ISLE — The work of the Central Aroostook Humane Society and the plight of the cats and dogs waiting there to be adopted were recently elevated by seventh-graders at Presque Isle Middle School as they hosted a Pet Adoption Fair at the Aroostook Centre Mall.
The May 12 fair was part of a KIDS Consortium service-learning project the students have been involved with since returning from Christmas vacation.
Service learning is a teaching strategy through which students identify, research and address real community challenges, using knowledge and skills learned in the classroom.
“Community service is more like raising money or volunteering your time, whereas a service-learning project is more like students trying to fix the problem rather than collect resources for others to do it,” said student Troy Nadeau. “Service learning is student driven, so we’re the ones who are trying to fix the problem.
“We had two or three different brainstorming sessions and then we took a vote and the majority wanted do so something with animals,” he said. “We had Christine Cowett Robinson from the animal shelter come in and talk to us and she identified some problems they are having trouble with, and after that we brainstormed some of our own and then we voted. The majority of the class chose that not enough animals were being adopted, so that’s the problem we decided to ‘fix.’”
The students, who are in Elaine Hendrickson’s and Chelsea Cheney’s classes, identified various tasks that would need to be completed in order to hold the Adoption Fair. They then formed into groups and began working on those tasks.
“I called around to the local vets and asked if they would give us a percentage off spaying and neutering, and they were very happy to donate their time,” said student Kamden Bates, “so my teachers gave me the job of public relations. At the fair itself, I was making announcements and promoting our event.”
While some students arrived early and helped decorate the former FYE store, others took shifts where they ran games for kids, did face painting, manned information booths, played music and answered questions.
“We had more than 100 people come in during the first hour,” Bates said. “We were busy, but it was fun. We all put in a lot of effort and I’m happy to see it come together and see people enjoying it so much.”
By the end of the four-hour event, nearly 450 people attended the fair.
Though he would have liked to take an animal home with him, Bates thought better of it.
“We have four cats and two dogs,” he said, “so my Mother would kill me if I went home with another animal.”
Liz Farley, Central Aroostook Humane Society board member, was on hand to look after the three cats the shelter had at the fair.
“I also wanted to come and just check it out because it’s a project the students worked on diligently with Chris Robinson, as well as their teachers,” she said. “I think it’s a great project that they’ve done. They’re all very enthusiastic about it which is something you don’t necessarily expect from that age group. They’re very friendly and were going up to people and pulling people in which is awesome.”
Beginning with next year’s freshmen, Presque Isle High School students will need to complete 40 hours of community service in order to graduate.
“I’ve already had a few kids come up and say that when they get into high school, they want to volunteer at the animal shelter, so that benefits us in the long run,” said Farley.
While no animals were adopted as a direct result of the fair, Farley said educating the public is just as important.
“At some of the booths the students had asked questions of people like, ‘Can you afford pet food?’ ‘Can you afford vet bills?’ ‘Are you home a lot?’” she said, “because those are all important questions people need to think about before adopting a pet.
“The students did a fantastic job and we appreciate what they did for us,” said Farley. “I wish they could do this every year.”
During the fair, the students raised $382 for the shelter through the sale of T-shirts, raffle tickets and homemade cat and dog treats. A number of people donated money to the shelter, as well.
For more information on the Central Aroostook Humane Society, which is located at 26 Cross St. in Presque Isle, call 764-3441 or log onto www.centralaroostookhumanesociety.org.
