By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
Last month, youths from St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in West Point walked dogs and comforted cats at PAW animal shelter in Fort Madison.
Chase Menke plays with a cat at PAW animal shelter in Fort Madison as Layne Schmitt (left) and Isabella Clark look on. Youths and adults from St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in West Point volunteered at the shelter last month and donated cans of dog food.
“Many of us are animal lovers, and we were aware of the work PAW does in our community,” said Nathan Clark, family and youth minister at St. Mary Parish-West Point, St. Boniface Parish-Farmington, St. John Parish-Houghton and St. James Parish-St. Paul. “Our youth ministry is always looking for ideas to service the community and help give back to organizations that are a blessing to our community.”
Ten youths and five adults spent the afternoon at the no-kill shelter on Jan. 30 giving the animals lots of love and attention. “The kids jumped right in to help, and everyone was laughing and having a fun time,” Clark said. “At times I could see the kids were experiencing some feelings of sadness and sympathy towards the animals. It was heartwarming to see the kids shower the animals with love and compassion and see the animals take all that they could get.”
The parish also donated 20 cans of dog food to the shelter.
Clark said he hopes the service project empowered the youths to look for ways to get involved and make a difference. “One way to put our faith into action is by showing compassion to God’s creatures that are less fortunate.”
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