
Toys,
food,
water,
leashes,
beds,
and
even
hamster
wheels
were
a
few
of
the
items
that
Penn
Elementary
School
students
collected
to
help
the
Prince
William
County
(PWC)
Animal
Shelter
stock
their
new
facility.
In
return
for
the
generous
donation,
representatives
from
the
PWC
Animal
Shelter
visited
the
school
to
talk
with
students
about
their
work
helping
animals.
Jacquelynn
Zanghi,
a
fourth
grade
teacher,
and
Pamela
Dawson,
a
special
education
teacher,
serve
as
co-sponsors
of
the
Student
Council
Association
(SCA),
which
is
comprised
of
approximately
50
students
in
grades
third
through
fifth.
The
student
leaders
organized
the
"Show
the
Animals
some
Love"
campaign
because
they
wanted
their
school
to
give
back
to
the
community.
When
Zanghi
and
Dawson
reached
out
to
arrange
the
delivery
of
the
donated
items,
the
shelter
offered
to
visit
the
school.
The
PWC
Animal
Shelter
welcomes
and
assists
many
animals
of
all
sizes,
including
types
that
people
may
not
expect
to
be
considered
a
pet.
Sgt.
Ben
Lambert
and
Tali
Hurst,
animal
control
officers,
showed
students
photos
of
animals
that
their
team
has
rescued.
They
explained
that
the
smallest
animals
at
the
shelter
are
domesticated
mice
and
frogs
while
the
largest
animals
are
horses.
Seeing
the
photos
prompted
many
student
questions.
Colin
McCourt,
a
fifth
grader
who
also
serves
as
the
SCA
treasurer,
asked,
"Where
does
the
shelter
find
room
for
all
the
animals,
especially
the
horses
and
alpacas?"
Sgt.
Lambert
replied,
"We
make
room
wherever
we
can."
After
the
meeting,
McCourt
and
his
fellow
SCA
officers,
who
are
also
fifth
graders,
Max
Borrayo
(president),
Ana
Daniels
(vice-president),
and
Gabriella
Payne
(secretary),
loaded
the
donations
from
the
Penn
Elementary
students
into
the
animal
shelter's
truck.
Zanghi,
Dawson,
and
Dr.
Elliott
Bolles,
the
school's
principal,
were
proud
and
very
impressed
with
the
efforts
made
by
the
students
to
support
their
local
community.