The new Paws For A Cause club will hold its first ever meeting in room C136 after school on Tuesday, Oct. 15 where students interested in volunteering with animals can look forward to food and fun activities.
Co-founders and presidents of the club, sophomores Kerry Vo and Reese Szewczyk, hope to inspire students to help animals in their community as well as get volunteer hours.
“Join if you have pets and want to help other animals. It’s important to picture what other animals are going through because they could’ve been in a rough situation,” Szewczyk said. “Helping animals, donating or coming to the club and volunteering can look good in college but can also be a good thing in general.”
The club was started as a result of the founding members’ personal connection to animals as well as desire to share this passion.
“My pets have impacted my life because they’re great companions and they’re always there for me,” Vo said. “It makes me so sad thinking about how some animals don’t have safe homes, so I wanted to help them because there weren’t any clubs before to help animals and volunteer with them.”
Since the officers’ love for their pets and community service first brought them together, the club has been hopeful for what can be achieved if similarly dedicated people join the cause.
“I have a dog named Lucy who I’ve had since I can remember, so she’s always been there for me. If something goes wrong, she’s like my emotional support,” sophomore Vice President Karina Sharghi said . “We all have animals and we’ve always wanted to help animals out by volunteering in any way we can.”
These ambitious yet selfless goals were jump-started in part thanks to the strong support of the club’s sponsor, English teacher Erinn Devoss.
“We had Ms Devoss for English last year and she has three dogs that she would talk about with us. She was a very fun teacher who was really fun to get along with,” Szewczyk said. “We wanted to pick a sponsor that would make it fun but also take it seriously so that’s why we chose her.”
Additionally, the club hopes to show students that volunteering for a cause with personal meaning can be a fun and engaging way to get service hours.
“We wanted to start something where we could make more people interested and more people aware of the help we can give to animal shelters,” sophomore Website Coordinator Grace Walker said. “I’m excited to help animals in need and be able to give back to the community through something I really care about.”
