Here at NewsDepth headquarters, we all try to give back to the community. AND, we all love animals! This week’s A+ Award winner found a way to combine both of those things by volunteering at the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter.
Brendan Anderson, a tenth grader at Nordonia High School, has been a volunteer at the shelter for five years. That’s a third of his life! He told us that it all started when his family was adopting a dog. The staff at the shelter gave his family information about the junior volunteer program for ages 9-11.
After completing the junior volunteer program, Brendan continued to help out at the shelter with his mom for the last five years. He told us that he spent his time at the shelter doing all sorts of odd jobs. We were really surprised by some of the things he’s done for the canine community at the shelter. He told us that he’s done the laundry to keep the dogs’ bedding clean, he’s fed the dogs and washes all of the dogs’ dishes, and he even got to make treats for the dogs! Brendan even shared the recipe with us! The treats are made of pumpkin puree, oats, and peanut butter. All you have to do is roll all of the ingredients together into little balls and freeze them! Newshound says they’re delicious!
Brendan told us that he’s learned a lot of valuable lessons through his volunteering at the shelter. He shared that through his work, he’s learned the importance of responsibility and time management. Brendan is a straight-A Honor student and a trumpet player in the Nordonia band and that also takes up a lot of his time. Brendan’s mother told us that she’s very proud of how much empathy Brendan shows the dogs waiting to find their forever homes. Empathy means that you’re able to understand the feelings of others.
Brendan spends about 2 hours each Saturday at the shelter and he even gets to play with the puppies from time to time. He told us that the work is really important to him because the animals he cares for need someone to help them out. He doesn’t only help out at the shelter. We also learned that he’s always seeking out opportunities to help others whether its fellow band members or at his church. He told us that his advice to other kids is to always try to find ways to help others.
This week’s A+ Award goes to Brendan for his five years of service at the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter. If you’re wondering, Brendan’s dogs are a boxer foxhound mix and a pit bull terrier.
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