Schools & Communities
Schools
Kind News: This publication emphasizes fairness, compassion and responsibility through articles about animals and humane values. It is provided free to nearly 250 K-6 classrooms, reaching over 7,000 children in the tri-county region. Each group subscription includes a classroom visit by our trained staff to connect humane messages to local issues such as school bullying.
Classroom Visits: Our humane education team love to visit classrooms in the Lansing area. We have a wide variety of programs designed to teach humane values. We are always interested in developing new ideas and our education team can assist teachers in developing specialized lessons. Each visit includes an optional special visit from a shelter pet. There is no fee associated with these visits, but many schools chose to collect and donate items found on our shelter wish list. Please contact our humane education team at (517) 626-6821 ext. 30, or e-mail us at education@cahs-lansing.org to schedule a visit.
Shelter Tours: We offer group tours and presentations for school field trips, Girl Scout Troops, and other community organizations. Each tour consists of a presentation in our education room and a tour of our animal shelter. Each tour presents an opportunity to meet some of our shelter pets in a very safe, hands on experience. Our presentations can be tailored to meet the needs of individual groups. There is no fee associated with shelter tours, but many groups choose to donate items from our shelter wish list. Please contact our humane education team at (517) 626-6821 ext. 30, or e-mail us at education@cahs-lansing.org to schedule a time.
The following presentations are available for shelter tours and classroom visits:
A Dogs Good Sense: Preschool-1st—This program focuses on our five senses and communication. This interactive program discusses how we use our senses to identify the needs and feelings of our pets. We will also discuss the similarities and differences of how animals and people use their senses.
The Purrrrfect Pet: Preschool-5th—This interactive program offers a basic overview of being a pet owner. This program encourages students to be a responsible pet owner by identifying common household pets, basic needs of these pets and assists students in choosing the right type of pet for their homes. This program also includes a discussion about wild and domestic animals.
Animal Shelters 101: K-8th—This program details the daily activities that happen at the Capital Area Humane Society. This program presents an in-depth look at animal sheltering, while discussing the need and reasons for our organization in our community.
Bite Prevention: Preschool-5th—This program encourages safety around animals and pets. It gives students some good tips and guidelines to use when meeting new animals and how to stay safe around them.
Community
The Capital Area Humane Society is moving beyond our shelter walls to provide important programs and services to people in a variety of neighborhoods of our mid-Michigan community. Our goal is to increase accessibility for people in identified areas; making it easier to become connected to valuable programs and services. Now, in addition to hosting many programs at our shelter, we are taking our services on the road, directly to people who need our help.
Programs are already being offered and developed with the following community centers: Baker Donora Community Center, Allen Neighborhood Center, Southside Community Center and Cristo Rey Community Center.
Pet-Fairs: In 2006, the CAHS launched a pilot program called a Pet Fair at the Baker Donora Focus Center in Lansing. Our staff visited the center to vaccinate dogs and cats against distemper and rabies and to administer a general de-wormer. We also distributed free food, collars, leashes and educational information about our low-cost Spay/Neuter Clinic and our Youth Education Programs.
At the first Pet Fair, we saw pets from 111 families in less than 4 hours, vaccinating 124 dogs and 65 cats. None of the animals were current on their vaccinations and only 38% had seen a vet in their lifetime.
The results of the pilot program clearly indicated that a more comprehensive program is needed in Lansing. In 2007 we began planning to expand the clinic to other community centers. Now, in 2008, we are pleased to be working with a number of community centers to educate, inform and involve people in creating a more humane community.
OFF-SITE CHAT Club: (Children for Humane Animal Treatment) is an after school club which welcomes kids ages 8-12 as members. Through CHAT, the CAHS aims to teach children to interact positively with and respect animals. Examples of CHAT lessons include: demonstrations of the right and wrong ways to handle animals, teaching the concept of respecting an animal's privacy and space, pets as part of the family, animal safety, bite prevention and inappropriate and aggressive actions towards animals.
The schedule of Off-Site CHAT Club may vary by location; ask your community center if they have a partnership with the Capital Area Humane Society! Or, call our Education Coordinator at 517-626-6821 x.30.