Kickstarting Kindness
Jan 21, 2019
Grade 8 students are working on their construction skills and showing their kindness as they help out two organizations that benefit the local cat population. The students taking the Kickstart Program Design Technology program at Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute have been working with volunteer Grade 9 students on constructing cat boxes for two local cat rescues – Kitty Kare and Caring Hearts. On Tuesday, January 22 the students will a visit by a representative from ‘Kitty Kare’ who is planning to speak to the class about their rescue organization.
“’Kitty Kare is not a cost recovery rescue in that we do not have a set adoption fee. We pay all our vet care and foster expenses out of pocket and rely on our fundraising activities and donations,” says Cindy Sakiyama, Kitty Kare Representative. “School visits provide our organization with an opportunity to create an awareness of the unnecessary suffering cats endure as a result of overpopulation and to promote spay/neuter programs within the community.”
Kitty Kare rescues cats which are at risk (too vulnerable in a kennel environment) or will be euthanized due to condition or lack of space at Thunder Bay’s Animal Services. They place cats they rescue into foster homes and then work to place them in a caring environment in a “forever” home. They also provide veterinary care as needed and ensure that all cats that are adopted out are vaccinated and spayed or neutered when they are old enough.
Kickstart Program Design Technology Teacher Lisa MacLeod (who owns 2 rescue cats) came up with the project idea because of her love of animals. She also really liked the fact that her students would be able to develop and apply construction and design skills, while working to help solve a ‘real-world’ problem. The students were keen to get involved with building the boxes as part of their class work.
“It was a great opportunity for some of the students to transfer some of their recently learned construction skills to a ‘community focused’ project. These sorts of projects always seem more meaningful to the students, knowing that the boxes they were constructing would be used to help raise money for cats in need,” says MacLeod. “My students and I hope that every cat in Thunder Bay has a chance to find a loving home. It’s so impressive that there are multiple rescues like Kitty Kare and Caring Hearts in the city, with dedicated volunteers who work so hard to rescue and find ‘forever homes’ for as many cats as they can.”
