Springfield — Motivated by concern for homeless animals placed in shelters, two Vermont Tech student-run organizations, the Outreach Club and the Construction Club, have teamed up to build and donate agility equipment for the Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society in Windsor.
“We first contacted Lucy Mackenzie after Hurricane Irene,” explained Randall Clark, the student coordinator of the Outreach Club and Windsor, Vermont resident. “We thought many animals would end up in shelters but, fortunately, this did not happen in the great numbers we feared. Instead, we focused on setting up times for students to help walk, feed and perform other volunteers tasks at the shelter.”
Building on that relationship — literally and figuratively — the Outreach Club contacted the Construction Club to help develop agility equipment, such as a dog jump with adjustable hoop, used to train animals, which was delivered the first week of May. The students are also building a donation box for the shelter.
“The Construction Club spent several months working between classes and in the evenings on this project,” said Clark, who credited Ryan Foss, a Sustainable Design major, for his leadership role in constructing the equipment.
“This partnership truly supports our mission of enhancing the bonds between animals and people, and is the perfect example of working collaboratively to create a humane community,” said Alexys Wilbur, the Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society’s marketing director.
“For a very specific need, such as agility equipment, it is so great to be able to work with students for whom building and construction is a passion.”
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