Hi, my name is Reid and I live in Portland, Oregon. My family and I have lived in Portland all my life.  I am in 8^th grade. I like to be outdoors and hike with my dog “Roger” whenever I can.  Dancing is also important to me.  I’ve been taking lessons since I was three years old.  Most of the time, I have a pretty full schedule.

At my school, all 8^th grade students are required to create a project for Service Learning.  The purpose is to become involved in some type of service work that will favorably impact individuals.  During this process, we also learn about becoming engaged citizens.

During the pandemic lockdown in Portland, we began seeing more and more homeless people around the downtown area.  They were more visible because everyone else was at home.  Many of the homeless people had dogs and I was concerned about them.  Did they have enough food to eat and a safe place to sleep?  After a Google search, I found Feeding Pets of the Homeless® and I chose this organization because they are focused on helping to care for the dogs and cats of people who need assistance.

The first thing I needed to do was contact Feeding Pets of the Homeless and learn how to go about this.  Robin, the Volunteer Coordinator, and I brainstormed about some ideas that I could use.  Because I was already saving glass bottles to redeem for extra money to pay for my dance classes, it seemed like I could use that service on this new project.

In Oregon, glass beverage bottles and cans are redeemed for $.10 apiece.  Everyone here knows how important it is to recycle and I thought that recycling beverage containers would keep Oregon clean and I would use the money from redeemed bottles and cans to donate to Feeding Pets of the Homeless.

My project advisor guided us through the project. They shared information that previous 8^th grade students wished they had known and what they passed along was really instructive.  Because of the pandemic and online learning, I quickly learned how important it was to be organized. I also learned to get out of my comfort zone to communicate to my classmates, in writing and in person, to ask for them to donate empty beverage bottles.  They were really supportive, and it was definitely a cool experience.  I raised over $257 for Feeding Pets of the Homeless and spread the word that homeless people love their dogs just like we love ours.