LT10/IT20- Extending Beyond the Text, Drawing Conclusions-A YOU SHOW Activity
“Rescued! Teens working together to find homes for stray animals”
HOW WE STARTED
Our founder, Claire Blackwell, volunteered at a local animal shelter. She enjoyed taking care of the animals. However, after a few weeks, she noticed that more strays were coming in than were being adopted. As a result, the shelter became overcrowded.
FROM IDEA…
Claire knew that many people who shop at pet stores might never think of visiting shelters. What if she could create a web site that was littered with pictures of animals available for adoption? The site could include information about each pet. That way, prospective adopters could search for a pet that was right for them. Claire proposed her plan to the shelter director, who was thrilled with the idea. Next, she corralled some friends, borrowed a digital camera, and got to work.
…TO ACTION
Claire and her friends began taking pictures of all the animals in the shelter. A computer savvy friend created the web site and uploaded all the photographs. Then Claire’s best writers added information about each pet and provided contact information for the shelter. To advertise the web site, Claire’s group posted signs all over town. Soon, interested “parents” began calling the shelter, looking for pets they had spotted on the internet.
GOING NATIONAL
Claire was surprised by what happened next. Calls began coming into the shelter from all over the country! People had logged onto the web site and fallen in love with one of the dogs or cats they had seen. But they could not travel the distance to come in and adopt it. So Rescued! was born.
REACHING OUT
Claire used the Internet to recruit student volunteers in other cities and states. Then she contacted shelters in those areas and asked if they would be willing to participate. Volunteers photographed animals at their local shelters, then uploaded the photos to the Rescued! web site. Before long, Claire’s web site listed animals from shelters in more than 20 states! In the three years Rescued! has been online, hundreds of animals have found new homes!
“Rescued! Teens working together to find homes for stray animals”
