When high school teacher Jensen Bergman learned that the Friends Forever Animal Rescue in Pennellville, NY was looking for help building some projects for their shelter, he knew his students would be eager to help.
“I had several students tell me that this was their favorite project this year, and that they are really proud of the work that we did to help these animals,” said Mr. Bergman.
He first took the idea to students in the Principles of Engineering class. There, they designed four projects, and passed the plans onto students in Residential Construction classes.
Together, students worked to first build a whelping box, which is a pen a dog will be placed in while she gives birth and will live in with her puppies for their early life. Next, they built a puppy feeding divider, which can accommodate up to ten puppies, and allows them to eat their food without competition from their hungry brothers and sisters. Finally, the students built two rolling carts that each hold nine large food storage bins, giving volunteers easier access to food needed for different animals, frees up floor space, and better allows volunteers to push the food through the shelter’s aisles.
The classes also made custom laser engraved signs with the Friends Forever logo for each item. In total, about 60 students were involved in the design and construction of these projects.
