Salt Lake Community College’s Thayne Center sponsored a service project with Best Friends Animal Society on March 25.
As part of SLCC Serves — a monthly community service opportunity for students to explore, address and understand social issues — students stopped by the Student Union at Taylorsville Redwood Campus to construct winter shelters for approximately 200 outdoor cats in Salt Lake City.
“Every month of the school year … I plan a SLCC Serves monthly event. I worked with my group of peer leaders, and each month we focus on a different area and different service projects,” said Savannah O’Sickey, coordinator for Student Community Services at SLCC. “In the past, we’ve done focuses on education, harm reduction, and holiday giving around Christmastime.”
Cat shelters
This spring, O’Sickey decided to focus on animals.
“Best Friends Animal Society does a program with outdoor cat colonies. To help, they create these shelters, [and] they maintain them,” explained O’Sickey. “If the cats have been serviced by Best Friends, they will have a nick in the ear that represents that the cat has been neutered and checked by the veterinarian. These shelters come into play in the wintertime to keep them warm as the temperature gets freezing.”
Valentina Montoya, a psychology major and peer leader at SLCC, said the winter shelters offer safety to cats while allowing students to engage in a community event.
“We’re helping street cats stay warm during those rough climates. We’re helping them to have a safe home,” said Montoya. “This is a really great experience for students to get to know more people. They can [help] make a better world. This is a really great experience to be a part of something.”
Input from attendees of SLCC Serves
Emma Putnam, a sociology major, combined her appreciation of cats with her desire to participate in a service project to fulfill her hours for the civically engaged scholar certificate.
“There are a lot of stray cats. It’s a bit sad. But for at least winter and cold nights they will have a good place to stay,” said Putnam.
Natashia Waltman, a computer science major, contributes regularly to service projects and has an interest in the shelter and well-being of cats.
“I like doing service projects. I’ve done them every month. I want to keep little kitties safe and healthy,” said Waltman.
Over 30 students and staff showed up to put together winter shelters. The Best Friends Animal Society maintains the shelters after they are distributed around the city.
To participate in the next SLCC Day of Service, follow the Thayne Center on Instagram.
