Emily Cheverino teaches seventh-grade English Language Arts at Riverhead Middle School. She’s additionally been an animal rescue advocate and volunteer for so long as she will be able to keep in mind.
“I knew that when I became a teacher, I wanted to somehow incorporate that passion into my career,” she mentioned.
She introduced that full circle with the launching of the college’s new Animal Rescue Club. The common neighborhood service group was began this fall.
Ms. Cheverino mentioned about 50 college students got here to their first assembly and he or she ended up capping weekly attendance at 25 college students. Her hope is to recruit a co-adviser for the following college 12 months to permit for extra college students to take part.
“Not every student comes to every meeting because sometimes they have sports or other clubs to attend,” she mentioned. “No matter what, there’s always an opportunity for whoever wants to come.”
The membership meets each different Thursday after college. Members are additionally volunteering with the Southampton Animal Shelter.
Recently, the shelter featured the coed membership in an Instagram put up for Giving Tuesday.
“We are overjoyed by the outpouring of support from our community,” shelter officers wrote.
During the membership’s first assembly, college students wrote letters encouraging neighborhood members to undertake dogs and cats from the shelter. In November, they organized a Thanksgiving pet meals drive, delivering packing containers of donations to the Hampton Bays shelter on Giving Tuesday.
Flyers for the drive had been despatched out throughout the entire district, in accordance with Ms. Cheverino, who she mentioned she was “blown away with how many donations we got.”
“We probably got about 12 bags of dog food, various different types of treats, a lot of clothes. I would say maybe like five boxes full of donations,” she mentioned.
This month, membership members are holding a Holiday Animal Shelter Donation Drive. They’re gathering pet meals, pet beds, canine and cat toys, leashes and collars in addition to different provides for the shelter.
Club members took their first area journey to the Southampton Animal Shelter Dec. 18. They met with employees and animal trainers and realized extra about working within the shelter. They additionally realized the way to hold pets out of the shelter system.
The area journey included alternatives to socialize with dogs and cats and spend time with the furry mates that their donations have helped.
“As the club continues throughout the years, I really hope to partner with more shelters throughout the area — like Kent Shelter and North Fork Animal Welfare League,” Ms. Cheverino mentioned. “I’m hoping to expand it more so that when we do these donation drives, we can spread the wealth a little bit and also get more opportunities for them to come here to educate the students.”
Club member Jackson Burgess has three dogs — a pitbull combine, a Chihuahua combine and a Yorkie. They are all rescues.
“I’ve always had an interest in animals, and I’ve always loved going to shelters and seeing all the animals and helping them out,” he mentioned.
Jackson described it as “the best club.”
“My favorite part is when we do donations because I know that all this is going to animals and helping them out,” he mentioned.
Jackson additionally enjoys when the presenters convey animals to the college and educate membership members about what they do on the shelters in addition to the way to assist.
Ms. Cheverino views the membership as one other alternative to make a constructive change in the neighborhood.
“I’m hoping to make somewhat of a tiny bit of a difference, not only in getting more students involved in clubs and educating them — but to make a difference in their community as well,” she mentioned.
