The Stratford Perth Humane Society is offering a new way for local students to log volunteer hours.
High school students in Stratford and Perth County can now foster animals from the humane society and log volunteer hours for doing so. The initiative is a pilot program launched this summer, and students 14 and older are eligible to participate by temporarily fostering a cat or small animal. Interested students can fill out an application on the HSKWSP website. Eligible students will undergo an interview with the staff and will be asked to provide two letters of reference.
Accepted students will receive free animal care training and will have all expenses for caring for the animal covered. According to the release, that includes food, supplies, and veterinary care. Leafy greens are the only item that those fostering small animals would need to provide at their own expense. The release also states that "the Stratford Perth Student Foster Program includes cats and small animals without any behavioural or medical issues. Students will participate in the program under the supervision of a parent or guardian and will be required to periodically bring in the animal to the Stratford Perth Humane Society for veterinary checkups and adoption appointments."
“The pandemic made it challenging for high school students to complete their community service volunteer hours.” says Stacy McLellan, Volunteer Coordinator at the Kitchener Waterloo & Stratford Perth Humane Society (HSKWSP). “Given the success of our existing adult Foster Volunteer Program, we launched a pilot that enables high school students in the Stratford Perth area to provide love and care to a vulnerable animal while we look for their forever home.”
“Summer is a very busy time at the humane society, with many animals in need of foster care.” McLellan adds. “Expanding our Foster Program to include students will allow us to increase the number of animals we are able to help and will give them the one-on-one care and attention that is hard to replicate in a shelter environment.”
Additional information and application forms are available on the HSKWSP website: https://kwsphumane.ca/how-to-help/foster