Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA): Build-A-Bear Youth Humane Education Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
The Pennsylvania SPCA is so grateful to the Petfinder Foundation for enabling another successful year of its Humane Education Program, which is at the core of our mission to prevent animal cruelty and neglect and to build compassion and tolerance in the community. The Humane Education Program spent the $3,045 Youth Humane Education Grant as follows:
$980.00 - Transportation mini grants to six Philadelphia classes who did not have the funding to visit the shelter.
$698.99 - Surface Pro 4 tablet for use in classroom setting.
$150.00 - Professional development seminar: Teaching for a Positive Future by the Institute for Humane Education.
$325.00 - Microchip scanner for classroom demonstrations.
$350.75 - Supplies for student groups to make enrichment activities for shelter animals, e.g. sisal rope for cat scratchers, fleece for blankets, and special syringes without needles for vaccination demonstrations.
$479.88 - Hotspot/Vpak access for use with tablet.
$60.41 - Keyboard accessory for use with tablet.
Total: $3,045.03
The Petfinder Foundation Humane Education Grant has helped the PSPCA bring free, quality humane education to 413 students ages 6-14 since August. By reaching out to schoolchildren, the PSPCA seeks to reduce future animal cruelty and foster a new generation of animal advocates.
How many pets did this grant help?
This grant enables humane education that will prevent pets from suffering from cruelty and abuse in the future.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
For the second year in a row, the PSPCA partnered with the third-grade classes at Inquiry Charter in the Belmont neighborhood of Philadelphia. Thanks to the funding provided by the Petfinder Foundation, the PSPCA was able to bring all of the third graders to its main shelter in North Philadelphia. The students toured the shelter, met animals and heard their stories, learned how to care for a variety of animals (bunnies, horses, dogs, and cats), and made enrichment toys to benefit the shelter animals. Through these hands-on projects, students learned how to create stronger bonds with their own pets and how they can help the homeless animals of Pennsylvania.
The Petfinder Foundation grant also enabled the PSPCA to build a new partnership with ninth-grade classes at Furness High School in South Philadelphia. Throughout October and November, the Humane Education Program led a series of lessons on topics including “understanding animal cruelty” and “building healthy bonds with our pets.” During these lessons, the students defined animal cruelty through discussion and an exploration of the Pennsylvania animal-cruelty codes. A Humane Law Enforcement Officer visited their classes to talk about how he applies the animal-cruelty code on the job. Finally, students learned to identify when pets are anxious and fearful. This partnership will continue through the school year with four shelter visits over the next few months and two new ninth-grade groups starting in January.
