Ideas For Kids

Welcome To The Cocheco Amigo Club

Kids Care Page!

There Are Lots of Ways Kids Can Help Cocheco Valley Humane Society!

Hold a special fundraiser for CVHS. Bake sales, penny drives, yard sales and fun game festivals can all raise much needed money to help the animals. Let Jane Kennedy, CVHS Humane Educator, know the date and time of your event so she can get pictures and offer support! Just call 603-749-5322, ext. 115.
Write a book or play that can help teach others to be kind to animals. Show the play to your class or donate the book to your class.
Be a poster bandit. Put up animal adoption posters for CVHS at your school, at stores or your church. Be sure to get permission before your poster goes up.
Invite a CVHS Humane Educator to come to your class or group to talk about animal care and how you can help animals. Contact Jane Kennedy, CVHS Humane Educator, at 603-749-5322, ext. 115.
If your family agrees, adopt a shelter animal. Take a picture and send it to us. Let us know how your new family pet is doing!
Foster care a shelter animal. (Your family would need to want to do this too!) Call the shelter to learn more about the important service you and your family can provide.
Start a Cocheco Amigo Club. Work with your friends to help animals and let us know what you do! You might make posters of animals available for adoption at CVHS. Create bookmarks with humane messages to use in class or hand out at the library. Produce a newsletter about animals or hand out the CVHS kids newsletter, Whiskers and Paws (it's on this website!) Educate your classmates and we will recognize projects on our website and in our newsletter. Lots of information is available at CVHS. Call Jane Kennedy, CVHS Humane Educator, at 603-749-5322, ext. 115 if you need help. Mrs. Kennedy is also available for visits to discuss animal care, safety around animals, ways your club can help animals and the shelter or just to lend support for a special project. Her dog Sasha might even be able to visit along with Mrs. Kennedy with permission from a supervising adult.
Make a brochure about microchipping and how it can help ensure the safe return of your pet should it become lost. Since our pets cannot talk, identifying your pet when it is lost is up to its owners. CVHS has a microchip program as do many area veterinarians. A small chip is placed under the dog or cat's skin on their shoulder. Should they become lost they can be identified and returned to their owners when the microchip is scanned. At CVHS, we scan all pets when they come to the shelter.
Make safe cat and dog toys for the animal shelter.
Bake dog treats to donate to CVHS or sell them as a fundraiser.
Write a poem or story about your pet and what makes your pet special. Share it at school or at church. Send it by email ([email protected]) or mail for possible publication in our online newsletter, Whiskers and Paws.
Tell us one or two ways you can make your home friendlier to the environment and animals: recycle your trash; make your yard more animal friendly with new plants, bird feeders, or bat houses or tell us about your ideas!
Give a neighborhood dog some fun. With permission from your parents, ask your neighbors who are busy or elderly if you can help care for their pet by walking their dog or playing with their cat.
Don't litter. Throw all your trash away, don't leave it on the ground or in the water. Be sure to pick up pet waste. Reduce your trash by recycling paper, cardboard, plastics, aluminum and tin cans. Keep the environment clean for everyone, including our animal friends.
Never purchase exotic animals or wild birds. Wild animals belong in the wild. Create space in your yard for wildlife. Plant flowers and trees in your backyard that provide food and shelter for birds and other wild critters. Put a bird feeder and bird bath in your yard during the winter when food and water are more scarce.
Have a pet supply drive at your school, church, scout group or birthday party: Ask for items from our wish list to help the homeless pets at CVHS. Call Jane Kennedy, CVHS Humane Educator, at 603-749-5322, ext. 115, to help support your effort!

Cocheco Valley Humane Society Wish List:

Canned dog, puppy, cat, and kitten food (all brands and flavors)

Bleach
Laundry Detergent
Bounty Paper Towels
Rabbit Food
Bird Food
Guinea Pig Food
Large Blankets and Comforters
Baby Blankets
Plastic or Metal Shelving
Grooming Supplies
Laptop Computer
A New Van to transport animals

Calling all animal lovers! The animals of Cocheco Valley Humane Society need your help. Anyone age 16 or older can become a trained volunteer at CVHS (training is free!). To learn more about volunteering, visit the "Volunteer" section of our website or contact the volunteer manager at (603) 749-5322 ext. 111. If you're an animal lover 14 to 15 years old, you can volunteer for CVHS with a parent or guardian!

Often students need community service hours towards graduation from your junior high/ middle school or high school. Please go to http://www.cochecovalleyhumanesoc.org/HECommunityServiceLearning.cfm found in the Humane Education section of this website.

If you're under 12, there are still so many ways you can help Cocheco Valley Humane Society. Every friend of CVHS makes a difference in the lives of our animals at the shelter. Check out the ideas below and let us know what you do, so we can recognize your effort in our Whiskers and Paws newsletter.

Contact Jane Kennedy, CVHS Humane Educator, at 603-749-5322, ext. 115 if you need information or assistance with your project idea.

Links For Kids

American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (ASPCA) Animaland website: www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=kids_home

American Humane Association Just For Kids website:
www.americanhumane.org/kids/index.html

Kind News For Kids Website: www.kindnews.org

Petfinder's Tama And Friends website:
www.petfinder.com/tama//index.html

PBS' Woof! It's A Dog's Life website:
www.pbs.org/wgbh/woof/index.html

Whiskers and Paws Newletter: www.cochecovalleyhumanesoc.org/HumaneEdWhiskersandPawsJune2009.cfm