A group of teenagers is spending their summer building a brighter future for animals and their community. They are learning about ways to support companion animals and wildlife at the nonprofit PAWS.
“The youth are a force to be reckoned with; essentially their voices are so loud and people listen to them. And it’s so important to give them an opportunity to spread their passions,” said PAWS educator Bailey Gilbert.
Bailey Gilbert is encouraging young volunteers to be champions for animals. Through the PAWS Teen Club at the animal shelter in Lynwood, Gilbert is giving 19 teens the opportunity to explore areas they are passionate about.
“Since I was 6 years old, I wanted to work with animals. Like I wanted to run an animal shelter or do anything with animals, so that is something that has always been wanting to do,” said Hannah Wilson, a Shorewood High School student.
“A lot of issues like climate change and other environmental things like that, pollution, they really kind of hit pretty hard for me, especially since I’m a really big fan of animals and I have loved them all my life, so with those big issues you feel you don’t have influence and going to teen club is a good way to feel like you are doing something,” said Shale Yamada, an Edmonds-Woodway High School student.
A love for animals attracted 16-year-olds Yamada and Wilson to the PAWS Teen Club’s service mission.
The summer program is a mixture of virtual and in-person engagement, with like-minded teens sharing a goal to improve animal welfare and wildlife conservation.
“We don’t live on this earth alone. We have so many other animals and even plants we share this earth with that we really got to be more mindful of,” said Yamada.
The youth program is helping to fulfill PAWS’ mission to inspire compassionate action for all animals. Since 1967, PAWS has helped rehabilitate 140,000 wild animals and has found forever homes for more than 130,000 dogs and cats.
Getting hands-on time with adoptable companions is one of the many perks for the teens, who are shown a wide variety of animal-related careers, ultimately gaining a deeper understanding of all areas of animal advocacy work.
“It’s important to take care of everything so that we and future generations can still have the same beauty to behold and also take care of, and it’s sort of our duty, because if we are going to take up space, we have got to do our part to keep it clean,” said Wilson.
The PAWS program is an immersive experience that will give the teens leadership and advocacy skills to hopefully carry on past the summer.
“I want them to continue exploring more ways to use their voices. I hope this is just a platform and a springboard essentially for them to be excited about animal-related careers, become veterinarians, become those wildlife rehabilitators and kind of create this next generation of adults that are passionate about animal care,” said Gilbert.
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