What started as an opportunity for summer community service hours has turned into several years of dedication to animals for a Smith-Cotton High School senior.
Rachael Meyer has been volunteering at the Sedalia Animal Shelter every summer for the last four years, spending roughly 30 hours a summer cleaning kennels and walking and playing with the dogs.
“I’ve always loved animals, just every kind of animal and helping them,” Meyer said during Friday afternoon’s open house at the new shelter facility. “I moved here a couple years ago and I found out about the shelter. I was inducted into National Honor Society my freshman year and I needed a service project for it. I picked the animal shelter and it became more than a school service project. I wanted to go back every year and that’s why I kept coming back.”
“Rachael was out there at the old shelter in the summer, the heat, and she did the dirty work, got in there and cleaned cages,” Sedalia Animal Shelter Manager Andrea Martin said. “Then after the cleaning was done she’d socialize with the pets. … She’s a great kid.”
Meyer said she enjoys getting to know both the staff and the animals and that it’s great to find out when a pet has been adopted. She was one of those adopters a few years ago.
“My first year I volunteered here I actually ended up going home with a dog,” Meyer said with a laugh. “I asked my parents, I was like ‘there’s this one dog here and I just love him.’ I ended up taking him home.”
Sammi, now 3, joined the family’s 14-year-old dog Sully, who Meyer said is the “reason I do everything for animals.”
This year, Meyer went beyond her normal summer volunteer hours and coordinated a month-long service project in November.
“I designed fliers to hang up around my school through National Honor Society and I collected donations from all over my school,” she explained. “One of my teachers, my German teacher, she really helped me. She was the biggest help because she hosted a competition in her class, whoever brought in the most got a pizza party. We got $500 from her classes alone and my mom donated an extra $110.”
The drive also collected almost 500 pounds of dog food, about 150 pounds of cat food, 30 blankets, treats and other supplies, according to Martin.
“They did exceptional. They truly helped a ton of animals, I don’t know if they have any idea of how many they helped,” Martin said. “(The monetary donations) helps us to vaccinate all these pets, it helps with if we have one that maybe needs some special care, extra medication. Just the daily care of each and every pet.”
In addition to NHS, Meyer is also team captain for Smith-Cotton girls swimming and girls tennis, president of the National Art Honor Society and a member of DECA, FBLA, Foreign Language Club and Leadership Sedalia.
Meyer said she plans to major in baking and pastry arts and is looking at two schools. She said she’s always wanted to open a bakery, and that it’s a “practical way to get into the arts.”
She said she encourages everyone to volunteer in some way in their community, especially students.
“For people my age it really builds character and I think it’ll definitely help people in jobs or to truly become a leader to themselves and other people,” she said. “… You won’t regret anything you do while you’re helping other people, knowing that you’re helping other people. We all deserve a little kindness in our lives, even if we don’t know the person that’s giving it to us.”
From left, Sedalia Animal Shelter employee Merry Rogers, Smith-Cotton High School senior Rachael Meyer and Sedalia Animal Shelter Manager Andrea Martin pose for a photo in front of the shelter’s Christmas tree during an open house Friday afternoon. Meyer has been volunteering at the shelter for the last few summers.
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From left, Sedalia Animal Shelter employee Merry Rogers, Smith-Cotton High School senior Rachael Meyer and Sedalia Animal Shelter Manager Andrea Martin pose for a photo in front of the shelter’s Christmas tree during an open house Friday afternoon. Meyer has been volunteering at the shelter for the last few summers.
Nicole Cooke | Democrat
Sedalia Animal Shelter Manager Andrea Martin, center, introduces volunteer Rachael Meyer, left, to Sue Heckart, of the Heckart Family Foundation, which donated the new shelter facility to the city, during Friday’s open house.
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Sedalia Animal Shelter Manager Andrea Martin, center, introduces volunteer Rachael Meyer, left, to Sue Heckart, of the Heckart Family Foundation, which donated the new shelter facility to the city, during Friday’s open house.
Nicole Cooke | Democrat
Smith-Cotton High School senior Rachael Meyer sits with the large donation of dog food, cat food, treats, blankets and other supplies donated by Smith-Cotton students during a drive coordinated by Meyer.
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Smith-Cotton High School senior Rachael Meyer sits with the large donation of dog food, cat food, treats, blankets and other supplies donated by Smith-Cotton students during a drive coordinated by Meyer.
Photo courtesy of Sedalia Animal Shelter
Senior hosts donation drive for Sedalia Animal Shelter
By Nicole Cooke
ncooke@sedaliademocrat.com
Nicole Cooke can be reached at 660-530-0138 or on Twitter @NicoleRCooke.