'It is important for kids to volunteer to help the community'

Hello. My name is Angelina Kelly and I am in 5th grade at the Warwick Valley Middle School. My teacher is Mrs. Buteau.

One day I noticed that a neighborhood dog was not being taken care of and it made me feel very sad.

This sad feeling motivated me because I wanted to see if I could help other animals in the community that needed to be better taken care of. So, my cousin and I started walking around the neighborhood, asking for donations that we would then give to the Humane Society. We ended up raising $80. They sent me a letter to thank me for doing this. We then started volunteering for the Humane Society and giving our time to take care of the animals there and walk the dogs.

To me being around animals is my favorite thing. I form relationships with them. Sometimes it is fun for people who don't have animals to interact with them. Animals do funny things or have the ability to cheer you up if you are sad or even comfort you. They also do some very interesting things like make great noises or favor one member of the family over another.

I think it is important for kids to volunteer to help the community. You should not volunteer just to get an award. It is an amazing feeling to know you helped someone or something out, and you get a great feeling of accomplishing something important and that you made a difference in the world. Thank you.

Angelina Kelly
Warwick

Editor's note: The Warwick Valley School Board presented Angelina with the Prudential Spirit of Community Award.