The Hope Academy in Decatur, Ill. is holding a special program in which you can adopt a stuffed animal for a donation which will be used to help real pets.
The stuffed animals are placed in cages or habitats that will help them feel more at ease. Visitors can fill out an application for the stuffie they want to adopt. The potential owners must say whether they want a fish, bird, mammal and so on. Then they have to describe where it will live, promise to provide love, medical care, food, water and to never hurt their pet and friend, the Decatur Herald & Review reports.
Fifth-grade teacher Merijha Branson says the idea for the adoption fair was a group effort, and she went out and collected a variety of plush animals to be adopted for a minimum of $1 each, though larger donations were welcome. The students then came up with jobs for themselves and set up the event.
The raised money will go to Homeward Bound to help support real animals in need. The shelter will buy food, bedding and provide medical care for the animals while they wait to find their real home. Since Homeward Bound operates solely on donations, every penny counts.
“I think it’s absolutely great. They used a lot of imagination to come up with the different kinds of enclosures for them. They assigned jobs to everybody. They’ve all worked together as a team, which is what it takes, and I love it. I really appreciate the awareness this brings to these young people to the fact that there are animals in need out there and there are ways to get them into good homes,” says Linda Clary of Homeward Bound, who dropped by to see the project.
It is definitely a great idea and event. We hope that it will be a success and that it will be the start of a more regular event that will bring joy to people, stuffed animals and will provide for some much needed care for real animals in need.
