"The Walking Catfish" club has been selected as the 2008 Humane Society Youth Club Award winner by The Humane Society of the United States. The award honors a K-12 youth club that has made a significant contribution to animal protection.
At Animal Friends Humane Society in rural Ohio, it's not unusual to see hordes of sixth- and seventh-graders walking dogs down the nature trails and petting purring cats indoors. The hands-on learning opportunities are part of the life skills/humane education curriculum at Two Rivers Middle School in Covington, Ky. In January 2008, fifteen of the students started the Walking Catfish club, an animal protection group, and began planning a communitywide fundraising and adoption event for the shelter they love to visit.
"It's amazing to see the results of kids who are led by a teacher who values humane education and service-learning," said Heidi O'Brien, director of outreach for Humane Society Youth. "These students were able to connect academic instruction to real life situations and directly help the animals in their community."
The students found club-formation tips and the Mission: Humane "Help Homeless Pets" project on The HSUS' HumaneTeen Web site for middle- and high-school students. The project helped members learn about the pet overpopulation problem and more ways to help their local shelter.
The Walking Catfish spent countless hours over several months after school creating bookmarks, posters, T-shirt logos and brochures for their "Go Humane Cincinnati 2008" event. Held in May, the event included a dog walk, complimentary dog wash, pet photos, pet care vendors and live music. They even solved multistep math problems to mix the right amount of dog shampoo. In all, they raised $1,950 for Animal Friends Humane Society and found homes for eight shelter dogs. Currently, the members are working to get vegetarian options on the lunch menu and eliminate the use of Styrofoam trays in the cafeteria.
"They learned to work together by sharing responsibilities, leading project categories, and communicating," said club advisor and life skills/humane education teacher Samantha Gentrup. "They also learned the importance of taking care of companion animals and of spaying and neutering to reduce the homeless pet overpopulation."
For their efforts, the Walking Catfish received a library of animal protection books.
To read more about the Walking Catfish and other young people at work for animals, visit the "Humane Profiles" section of humanesociety.org/teens.
-30-
Humane Society Youth is a division of The Humane Society of the United States, the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the web at humanesociety.org.
