Inspiration Academy students volunteer at Animal Services

Kylie Ervin loves the dog Sadie at Manatee County Animal Services.

When the 12-year-old returned for the second time to volunteer at the Palmetto shelter with her school, Inspiration Academy, on Friday, the seventh grader made sure she could spend time with Sadie.

“I really love Sadie,” Kylie said while playing with the dog. “Sadie is so sweet. It is so much fun here and I love volunteering.”

Eleven middle school students from Inspiration Academy came to volunteer at Animal Services on Friday afternoon. The Bradenton private school has been coming to volunteer for the past couple months.

“The idea is to help them be servants to others, animals and people,” said Robin Evans, sixth grade teacher and seventh grade mentor at the school.

While Friday was the last time the Inspiration Academy students will volunteer at the shelter before summer break, they have already talked about having some of the children come volunteer during the summer, Evans said. The school’s high school students volunteer at a local nursing home on Fridays, she added.

“They rely on us now,” she said. “This is an important time for them.”

Debra Starr, with the nonprofit Animal Network, said any opportunity for the dogs at Animal Services to get out is “fabulous.”

“It gives us a chance to know the dogs better to make better matches,” Starr said.

Besides volunteering time at the shelter, some of the students at Inspiration Academy are collecting money to help provide some more dogs with heartworm treatment, Evans said.

“Our goal is to really teach them different ways to give,” she said. “This way is giving love and affection just by loving on these dogs.”

Zoe Detzel, 11, volunteered at Animal Services for six weeks last year but Friday was her first time volunteering with her school at the shelter.

“I love seeing the dogs and trying to help them out because they don’t really have a home,” the sixth grader at Inspiration Academy said.

This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Inspiration Academy students volunteer at Animal Services."