PCES sixth-graders look to make a difference with a school therapy dog
GUILFORD — Each year Anita Wright, principal at Piscataquis Community Elementary School, challenges her sixth grade class to “make a difference” in their world. Over the last several years, the “Make a Difference” challenge has encouraged students to brainstorm, develop, and complete projects that positively impact others around the world. These students have raised funds for getting doors and windows for a Tanzanian school, sent medical backpacks and kits to Ukraine, and most recently raised funds and collected donations for the Bangor Homeless Shelter.
This year’s sixth grade class started brainstorming ideas for their project last year and really wanted to focus on doing something to help their community. After Christy Gardner from Mission Working Dogs came to speak at a Veterans Day Assembly in November of 2023, the students knew exactly what they wanted to pursue: getting a therapy dog for their school. Once this was decided, Wright and Alexis Rollins, PCES social worker, began contacting Mission Working Dogs to see if they could make this dream a reality.
Mission Working Dogs is a nonprofit organization located in Lewiston that breeds and trains service, therapy, and facility dogs for veterans, schools, and nursing homes, amongst other various communities and populations. Gardner and her team have been working with PCES to determine what is needed to get a therapy dog in their school, and will continue to work with the sixth-graders throughout the year to complete this project.
The therapy dog will provide numerous benefits to PCES students through helping them to form healthy attachments, develop emotional intelligence and strategies, and reduce anxiety and stress. The students will be able to see the entire process of the dog being born, naming the dog, being updated on its progress through training, and watching it grow during its first year of life. It is a truly unique and uniting experience for the students.
The sixth-graders are taking the reins when it comes to earning the money and organizing the fundraisers to buy the therapy dog. They want to leave behind their legacy and ensure a positive impact on the future students that will attend their school. The project has seen overwhelming support from the school board, school staff and students, and from the community as a whole. The therapy dog will truly be a community dog.
The sixth graders will be hosting their first fundraiser for the dog as a Welcome Back Carnival on Wednesday, Sept. 18 starting at 4 p.m. Please come and support the students by playing games, eating snacks, and paying a visit to the Darling’s Ice Cream Truck!