Pictured are Kacie Hyle, Kat Wojsiat, and Cristi Romero delivering the donations they collected at Holy Cross Academy to Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association.
(Oneida, NY – May 2015) When Humane Educator Dee Schaefer spoke at Holy Cross Academy about the work of Wanderers’ Rest Humane Association, three students came up with an idea.
Schaefer told the students about the animal shelter’s food pantry, one of its most important programs. She said many families bring their pets to the shelter because they can no longer afford to feed their animals. But thanks to generous donors, people in that situation can receive free pet food at Wanderers’ Rest. In this way families don’t have to give up their pets, and both the people and animals win.
When HCA seventh-grader Kacie Hyle heard this, she immediately got an idea. She said to her friends Kat Wojsiat (7th grade) and Cristi Romero (10th grade), “Let’s have a paid dress-down day to collect donations for the Wanderers’ Rest food pantry!”
Because of HCA’s strict dress code, a dress-down day is a big treat. So, students sometimes use “paid” dress-down days to raise funds for good causes. Students who bring a donation can wear casual clothes to school that day. The students brought the idea to Principal Teri Maciag, and the date was set. On Friday, April 24, the students collected almost $200 in cash and food donations.
“It’s heartbreaking when people can’t feed their pets,” said Alyssa Stanwick, Animal Care Manager at Wanderers’ Rest. “So we really appreciate it when people contribute to the food pantry. It definitely helps.”
Holy Cross Academy is an independent Catholic junior/senior high school located in Oneida.