The students of the Bowman Middle School chapter of Youth to Youth have a passion for animals which recently inspired a new service project. The group took a field trip to the Mitchell County Animal Rescue this past month to volunteer. The group spent the afternoon socializing lonely animals, taking dogs out of their kennels for walks in the fresh air and lavishing attention on a litter of seven puppies. It was difficult to tell who was made happier by the visit—the students, the animals or their adult chaperones.
Youth to Youth is an after-school program designed to empower kids to make positive changes in their community and develop leadership skills. It meets weekly in all four of the public middle schools in Mitchell and Yancey counties. Students meet for an hour and a half directly after school dismissal and are provided with a healthy snack, a safe space to develop peer relationships, a variety of fun team-building games and time to work towards their mission of making positive change. It’s sponsored by Partners Aligned Toward Health and is free of charge to families, including transportation home.
This past fall in Youth to Youth, students reflected on the problems they see around them and ways to impact change. Noticing the prevalence of strays, animal neglect and animal mistreatment in their neighborhoods, Bowman Youth to Youth students proposed a trip to the Mitchell County Animal Rescue to do volunteer work. They don’t intend to stop there.
The group has been discussing ways to increase animal and human well-being simultaneously, drawing the connection between animals’ need for human care and the mental health and stress-relief benefits people receive from the company of pets. They intend to educate their local community on these benefits and advocate for responsible pet adoption.
The program is made possible with help from community partners including Bowman Middle School, Mitchell County Transportation, Mitchell County Animal Rescue and volunteers. To learn more about Youth to Youth or to register, email Tara Wright at Tara@pathwnc.org.
