New Kensington-Arnold 2nd graders present $450 donation to Animal Protectors

A donation from students at a New Kensington-Arnold elementary school will help a New Kensington animal shelter in many ways, the president of the shelter’s board of directors said.

Second graders at H.D. Berkey Elementary School in Arnold collected $450 through a coin drive the week of Sept. 26, teacher Gayle Frederick said. They presented it to representatives of Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley at an assembly Tuesday.

Animal Protectors operates from its shelter, a former school, on Church Street in New Kensington’s Parnassus neighborhood. It opened in December 2020.

The donation “will help us pay for the care and vetting of our animals, help us pay our amazing staff and help us keep the lights on,” said Katherine Fisher Martinez, president of Animal Protectors’ board of directors. “We are so grateful to the second grade class for raising these funds and helping homeless animals in their community.”

There are about 120 students in the second grade class. Frederick said they have been reading about pets and the responsibilities that go along with being a pet owner.

“The second grade teachers planned a caring and sharing activity with a coin drive to help the local shelter. We never imagined how successful the project would turn out,” she said. “Students also made special cards for all the volunteers to thank them for donating their time at the shelter.”

Students also gave the shelter a large canvas with a pawprint filled with their fingerprints for Animal Protectors to display at the shelter. Martinez said it will go either in the lobby and front hallway or in a conference room.

“The fact that there are people and animals who need help can be sad for a child to experience, but with their efforts to collect this donation and send messages of thanks and encouragement to our staff and volunteers, they just proved to themselves and reminded the rest of us that empathy and compassion can improve a difficult or unjust situation,” Martinez said. “I hope this sense of accomplishment and generosity fuels their next effort to help others and never feel powerless to make a positive difference.”