Bryant Students Help Humane Society
By Kate Tesch, Principal, Bryant Elementary School
On February 19, Bryant Elementary teamed up with the Douglas County Humane Society to serve up a one-of-a-kind art and all you can eat soup fundraiser. All funds raised will help furnish the new animal shelter near Bear Creek Park on Moccasin Mike Road and Hwy 2. This “Hugs for Mugs” event that was held at Bryant was a huge success that showed how “SUPERIOR” our community really is!
As of mid-March, the fundraiser and donations have raised over $2000, with more anticipated in coming weeks.
It all started in January when students in kindergarten, first and second grade at Bryant were inspired by a visit from Hank, a yellow lab, who was abused and has now been adopted by a loving family through the help of the Douglas County Humane Society. Hank is now dubbed ‘The Ambassador’ of the Humane Society. He loves visiting kids at school and enjoys all of the belly rubs and attention he gets from his admirers.
The kids really enjoyed Hank’s visit and they used this inspiration to create colorful pictures that were transferred to ceramic mugs. The mugs were on display and sold during the soup supper on February 19th to raise money for the Humane Society. Parents and community members cooked and baked to donate soups, breads and desserts.
Over 40 Crock-Pots of soups were put out for the all you could eat event; along with a never ending and changing dessert table. The event was so well attended, there was a line out the door! The final donations are still being tallied, but the Bryant community was able to support the Douglas County Humane Society in a big way.
Pictures of cats and dogs that were available for adoption were posted on our school’s bulletin board in the main hallway and each time an animal was adopted, an “adopted” sign was posted by that animal. At this time, almost all of the animals have been adopted and the kids just love seeing it up on the board and make sure to check it daily.
The excitement among the boys and girls, parents, grandparents, staff, teachers and volunteers was truly unbelievable. Children were searching through the coffee mugs they had painted to see if their mug sold; people were making extra donations and bringing supplies — all of which go to the Humane Society of Douglas County. This event brought our community together for such a great cause and the kids enjoyed learning all about the animals and how to treat them properly and with a lot of love!