Critter Club Again

Critter Club runs during the school year, and as we head into summer the club ends it's current session.  One of the projects the kids undertook was shooting a music video.  The project was inspired by a music video produced by the SPCA of Wake County in Raleigh, NC to the song by ABBA "Take a Chance on Me".   The Critter Club members saw that video, were enthusiastic about putting together their own and set about deciding on music and putting together choreography. 

After an entire meeting of listening to a variety of songs, the kids finally chose "Say Hey" by Michael Franti and Spearhead.  We all liked the idea that the song was about unconditional love -- something that fits in really well when we think about our pets. 

The video may not be professional quality, but the kids worked really hard at making it into something they could be proud of, and we rehearsed several evenings before we shot the final product. 

Another recent highlight of the Critter Club year was a few weeks ago when one of our employees. Jessica, allowed the kids to spend a bit of time with some 2 week old kittens she was fostering.   This is the time of year when we start to get them in, and many times they're too young to be away from the mother cat.  We greatly rely on foster homes that can hand raise them -- including bottle feeding every few hours and making sure they are pottied (very young kittes and puppies need to be stimulated by their mothers in order to produce urine and feces). 

Jessica was kind enough to show the kids how to feed and potty them, and then let the kids take over.  The kids were amazed by how small and dependent the kittens were, and really enjoyed caring for them. 

Critter Club Weekend

It was a busy weekend for HAWS Critter Club kids as we had activities for them both on Saturday and on Sunday.

HAWS annual Walkathon was on Saturday.  I've always wanted the education department to have some kind of activity for kids to participate in while attending the walk, but never had the time to create something.  Since one of the things incorporated into the Critter Club agenda is projects that help HAWS, I delegated the responsibility of game creation and implementation onto the club members. 

I couldn't have been more pleased with the result.  The club members came up with a scavenger hunt for kids having to do with getting answers on dog safety questions.  Once they completed the scavenger worksheet the participants brought the sheet back to the education booth.  Club members checked it over for errors, explained any answers that were wrong, and every child who completed a worksheet got a prize. 

Not only did the Critter Club members come up with a really fun and educational game, but they did a fantastic job the day of the walk itself.  They went around finding kids to play, and handled the education aspect of it in a very kind and informative manner -- making the younger kids completely at ease.   

Additionally, Critter Club member Carly Perock was awarded the Diana Boettcher Youth Community Kindness Award for her outstanding volunteer work at HAWS through Critter Club, as well as for organizing a fundraiser for HAWS in which she managed to collect and donate several hundred dollars.  Carly has been a long-time participant in HAWS kids programs, and it's fun seeing her grow up to be not only an animal lover, but someone who cares enough to take time and energy to help them.