Working with Faith-Based Organizations

Judaism

Tza’ar Ba’alei Chayyim, the pain of living creatures, is a set of laws within Judaism prohibiting cruelty to animals and obligating acts of compassion and proper treatment of animals.

Catholicism

Ten Building Blocks of Catholic Social Teaching Care for God's Creation:  We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation.

Unitarianism

We affirm and promote respect for the interdependence of all existence of which we are a part.

Muslim

All creatures on Earth are sentient beings. "There is not an animal on Earth, nor a bird that flies on its wings, but they are communities like you.” The Quran, 6:38

These are just a few examples of how religious principles encourage or in some ways mandate concern for animals.  Why not encourage students to work within their religious community to encourage adherence to these principles? 

Food for the Needy, Including Pets

Many religious organizations are involved with programs that collect and distribute food to low-income families.  Some prepare meals that are distributed, while others distribute food that is then prepared by the families. Whichever practice is found in their community, kids can work to include the pets of the families receiving assistance.

Kids may choose to work within their congregation — or better yet, work with a number of congregations or interfaith organizations in their area to maximize the results. Suggested ways to begin:

1. Research the religious principles that pertain to the congregations with which they will be working. They should find those principles that support a concern for the animals with whom we share the Earth. The research may be computer-based or may involve interviewing clergy or lay leaders within the congregations.
2. Determine what types of food distribution services are offered.  Does the congregation offer people in need the opportunity to come to the house of worship to pick up needed food items or does the congregation prepare and/or deliver meals to those in need?  Students should design their project to complement the existing services.

Project Ideas

How will the organizations obtain the food they will distribute?  There are a number of ways students can get involved.

1. Students can write a grant proposal to cover the cost of food.  This will give them experience in a number of academic areas. They will need to determine how much money to ask for by preparing a budget for the project, they will need to investigate granting institutions and the mechanics of grant writing, and they will need to write and submit the grant. DoSomething.org offers fundraising resources for teens.
2. They may choose to reach out to pet food companies, distributors, or retail outlets to request donations. This option will require that they write persuasive letters to these companies and follow up on their requests.
3. They can create a campaign to get the community involved by requesting donations of pet food or money with which to buy food for the program. Students can determine the best way to do this — is it a letter or brochure outlining the program sent to members of the community? Or a set of posters placed throughout the community? What other options are there?

While the majority of pets within homes are dogs and cats, there may be other types of pets in the households of those served by the congregations.  Students may choose to survey the people who receive food assistance from the congregations to determine if providing food for other animals is a necessity. Designing the survey and analyzing the results represents additional academic experiences.

How the food will be distributed? Will those in need be able to pick the food up, or will it need to be brought to the families’ homes?  This in some way will be determined by the services that are already in place in the community.  If the congregations offer food for pick-up, will the kids volunteer their time to help distribute the pet food in this manner? If the community programs deliver food to those in need, will the volunteers who already deliver the meals deliver the pet food as well — or will the youth project need to include delivering the pet food they obtain?  How wonderful will it be for the kids to see the gratitude in those served by the program first-hand!

National Education Standards Potentially Addressed by These Activities

NCTE — Standards for the English language arts

• Reading for Perspective
• Evaluation Strategies
• Communication Skills
• Communication Strategies
• Evaluating Data
• Developing Research Skills
• Applying Language Skills

NCTM — Principles and standards of school mathematics

• Number and Operations
• Measurement
• Data Analysis and Probability
• Problem Solving
• Communication

ISTE — National educational technology standards

• Technology Productivity Tools
• Technology Research Tools