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Students play with Snow, RACC’s “ambassador” pup.
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A student’s story and drawing
Kensy Jones, a second-grade teacher at St. Michael’s Episcopal School, has two passions in life: children’s literacy and helping animals in need. When Jones learned of a need for more people to adopt pets from Richmond Animal Care & Control, she wanted to help. So, as part of the school curriculum on persuasive writing and service learning, Jones and her second graders partnered with RACC to help find homes for 24 hard-to-place dogs and cats. Students were assigned a pet and briefed on the animal’s background before writing and illustrating notes — from the pet’s perspective — to be placed on each kennel to encourage potential adopters.
All 24 pets were adopted, earning the event national and international coverage by media outlets including “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” “The Rachael Ray Show,” and Der Spiegel, the largest news source in Germany. While the whirlwind of recognition continues for Jones’ class, the passion for this project exceeds the attention it has earned.
“The kids were most excited that they were able to help the animals,” says Andrea Amore, director of communications for St. Michael’s. “For us, it was never about the press coverage. It was more about teaching our children that they can use their words and their voices for good.”
St. Michael’s plans to continue this project for years to come. “It really brought the project to life in a very meaningful way,” Amore says. “It shows the power of a really great idea and resonated with the students because it was something they could grasp and understand.”
