On November 27, Linganore High School senior Emily Rice organized a service project for her Peer and Community Engagement Experience (PACEE) class. 

Rice’s project consisted of using recycled materials to make handmade dog toys to donate to a local shelter. Rice chose to donate to Fetch Thrift Shop where she felt they would be cherished by animals.

The event was held in Rice’s home, and she invited many friends and co-workers to help create the toys. 

Fetch Thrift Shop is a thrift store complete with clothing, glassware, trinkets, jewelry and more. The shop also features an area called the “Cozy Cat Den,” which is where visitors are allowed to see cats from local shelters available for adoption, with a donation to the store. The website states there may be anywhere from 5-8 cats in the den at a time. 

During the brainstorming of her service project, Rice found tutorials and ideas on how to make dog toys out of recycled materials, which she was motivated to do because of her passion for animals. She has always loved animals, and dogs specifically, so she believed making dog toys was an easy and effective way to give back to her community and local shelters.

Oakdale High School junior, Ellasyn McLane is a friend and co-worker of Rice. She provided insight on how she felt about the project’s cause.

“Animals that are in shelters … deserve love too, so I think making toys for them is a good way to give them the love that they deserve, even without a home,” McLane said.

Throughout the event, participants also played games such as Wii Bowling, Tennis, and Just Dance. Rice also provided snacks, including chips and salsa, vegetable trays and pizza. 

Of the 10 people who attended, another friend and co-worker of Rice’s, Cleo Cochran, shared her thoughts on the event and its charitable purpose. 

“I care about all the animals that don’t have a home, and I want to make them happy,” Cochran said. “I think a lot of people don’t focus on donating to shelters, [assuming] that it is just about adopting animals which it’s not, so I think it’s a good thing.”

A common denominator seen with leadership classes or PACEE students is that they prefer to do their required service project on something they are passionate about. It is clear that Rice is passionate about animals, , and it is  clear why this is what she chose to support when doing her service project. 

In total, the group was able to make around 15 medium-sized dog toys. Rice brought the donations to Fetch Thrift Shop later that evening.