SCHEDULING
- To schedule a visit from the APS of
Durham’s Education Department, please call 919-560-0640 and ask for
Simon or e-mail us at volunteer@apsofdurham.org. We can also bring a
child-friendly dog to any presentation upon request!
- Please try to schedule programs at
least 3-4 weeks in advance. Unless otherwise noted, programs usually
last 30-60 minutes.
- Our programs are designed to be
presented to a group of 30 students or less at a time. However, we will
be glad to schedule more programs to accommodate all interested teachers
at your school. We can occasionally make an exception by presenting to
an assembly-size group, but this is generally not as effective.
- All programs are FREE but we happily
accept donations of cash, food, bedding, or other materials on behalf of
the homeless animals at our shelter. We are also thrilled to receive
animal-related drawings from students!
“The greatness
of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals
are treated.” - Mahatma
Gandhi
Return to Top
VISIT THE SHELTER
Teachers & groups may schedule a visit to
the APS of Durham Animal Shelter. Students will learn about shelter
operations, including how animals come to the shelter, how they’re adopted
or reclaimed by the families (or their owners) and the pet overpopulation
problem.
Students will receive a tour of the shelter
and also be given the opportunity to play with a shelter dog or cat after
learning about the shelter’s safety rules.
 Return to Top
KIND IDEAS FOR KIND KIDS
Form a Club
Organize a pet club that meets weekly. Discuss
animal-related topics, go on field trips to local animal shelters and
develop community service projects that benefit shelter animals. If you
would like help forming your club and need ideas, call the APS of Durham’s
education department!
Organize an Animal
Awareness Week
An animal awareness week in a school, or with the entire community, will
encourage animal lovers to spread the word about the importance of being
kind to all living things. Be Kind to Animals Week starts on the first
Monday of each May, but feel free to choose your own week! This is a great
time to get your school involved in animal awareness.
Be Creative
Design a poster about pet overpopulation or pet safety, create an animal
bulletin board for your school, write a song or poem about animals, perform
an animal-themed play, or make a movie about an issue you care about. See
the following websites for more ideas:
Kind News
Humane Teen
Make a Difference, Make a Movie!
Listen Up!
Organize a Drive
Organize a drive in your school or community to collect items needed at the APS of
Durham. Toys, towels, and animal food are just a few of the items needed.
Put a marked container in a busy area for people to see.
Check out our wish
list to find out what we need
most.
Make Gifts for the
Shelter Dogs & Cats
Shelter animals love to receive homemade gifts of toys, biscuits,
etc. Have a classroom or neighborhood project to make items
especially for shelter animals.
Here are some ideas:
Craft Ideas from Shelter Source
Dog Biscuit Recipes
More Dog Biscuit Recipes
Cat Toy (ball)
Spider Cat Toy
Free Pet Projects
Make Gifts for Your Pet
More Ideas for Kids
View our
How Children Can Help page for
lots of other projects for kids.
"I expect to
pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or
any kindness or abilities that I can show to any fellow creature, let me
do it now.”
- William Penn
Return to Top
HUMANE EDUCATION
What is Humane Education?
Humane Education teaches respect and compassion for all living things. As
children learn about the interdependence between people and animals, they
gain a greater self-awareness and develop respect for living creatures. They
begin to understand that we share our planet with other living things, and
that each of us plays a vital role in making the earth a better place to
live.
The Importance of Humane
Education
“Children trained to extend justice, kindness, and mercy to animals become
more just, kind and considerate in their relations with each other.
Character training along these lines will result in men and women of broader
sympathies, more humane, more law-abiding – in every respect more valuable
citizens.” - From the 1933 National PTA Congress
“To
educate our people, and especially our children, to humane attitudes and
actions toward living things is to preserve and strengthen our national
heritage and the moral values we champion in the
world.”
- John F. Kennedy
Benefits of Humane
Education
- Reduces Violence
- Builds Moral Character Develops
Responsible and Caring Citizens
- Empowers Youth to Make a Difference
- Cultivates Empathy for Animals
Our Humane Education Programs awaken in
students an awareness and acceptance of responsibility to their companion
animals and in turn, to each other.
Humane Education =
Character Education
Return to Top |
