Keith Valley Middle School Students Collected And Sewed Stuff Animals For Animal Shelters

HATBORO-HORSHAM, PA — Local middle school students recently took part in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service project that is designed to bring some comfort to those homeless animals who are currently residing in shelters.

The seventh-graders from Keith Valley Middle School collected and sewed up stuffed animals during the first couple of weeks in March as part of a project to help Langhorne, Bucks County-based Glad Dogs Nation, which would donate the toys to animal shelters.

"Students wanted to bring something meaningful to the school to get everyone involved and give back to the community," seventh grade teacher Adina Thomas said in a statement.

According to a news release about the project, Glad Dog Nation makes the stuffed animals dog-friendly by washing them, replacing the hard eyes with flower appliques and hard noses with pompoms, and they also remove anything that could be harmful to dogs.

After the stuffed animals were brought to the school, the seventh graders put squeakers inside the stuff animals' bellies and then sewed them back up.

"The stitch in the belly represents the spay and neuter scar that we want to see on all animals," Glad Dogs Nation President Marianne Ahern said in a statement.

Ahern said she hoped that through the project the students were able to learn that they can have an impact on the world in ways that aren't necessarily difficult and time consuming but could be fun and enjoyable.

Assistant Middle School Principal Kai Coleman-Morris praised the project, saying that students were able to learn how to help those in need — be they, people or pets — and that they learned the importance of becoming passionate about a cause.

Visit this website to learn more about Glad Dogs Nation.