What’s the best way to learn valuable information about pet care all while getting your dog to be squeaky clean? Visit a dog wash! Our AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), Chloe Miller, hosted a dog wash event Wednesday in Dallas with the help of elementary students from the Momentous Institute in Oak Cliff.
For the past few months, Chloe has helped Momentous Institute children come up with a local project to benefit the animals in the South Dallas community. The students identified an issue within the community and worked to help solve it. When they began discussing proper pet care and stray animals in the area, they saw a concern and wanted to implement a project that would help. Their initiative was quite impressive, too. They made a proposal to their classmates about the need to address this issue, they voted on which solution to pursue as a group, and they had experts come talk to them about viable options.
“By the end of the day, they were jumping out of their seats from excitement,” Miller said. “The idea is to give them the power and the tools they need to effect the change they wish to see. Most kids feel that they are too young to make a difference in their world, because that is exactly how they are treated. But I have learned through this experience that if you give them the opportunity, they will surprise and impress you continually.”
From the very start of Chloe’s time with the students, she wanted to introduce them to conservation work. She was able to help teach 30 students about conversation work while they did a litter cleanup in Cedar Creek. Since then, she has been encouraging them to see themselves as scientists and conservationists rather than passive bystanders.
This encouragement seemed to help because the students were very active with their project of choice. All their hard work culminated in Wednesday’s event. For an hour and a half, the kids washed 36 dogs for free while talking to the 100-plus guests about proper pet care, addressing topics like free spays and neuters.
Chloe said that during this whole process, she’s seen the students’ eyes light up with amazement as they discover what can be possible with conservation work—an experience she won’t forget soon.
“Kids are so much more open to new ideas than adults are,” said Miller. “Their potential as change-makers is utterly untapped. This feeling of reverence for the Earth is so powerful that if you experience it at a young enough age, you will never escape it. It’s meaningful to them, because they now possess a small window into the serenity of nature that they can expand.”
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