Philip W. Sugg students have been offered an opportunity to volunteer at a local pet shop, Petland in the Topsham Fair Mall. In order to volunteer, students need to be a trained junior volunteer for the Lisbon School Department. A refresher course and training for new volunteers was held on Tuesday, October 9 by Monica Millhime, Community Resource and Volunteer Coordinator for Lisbon Schools. A training class was also held at Petland on Wednesday, October 3. Students can volunteer Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Petland. Junior volunteers can expect to train and exercise puppies, socialize with pets, and take care of the well being of the pets. The program is expected to run through the summer.

I wanted to know more about the program and what people could do to help. I interviewed the person who brought the idea forward to Mrs. Millhime as a community project, seventh grade teacher, Kathleen Littlefield. Mrs. Littlefield thought Petland would be a great place for students to volunteer for two specific reasons. For one, junior volunteers will be able to work toward the Presidential National Volunteer Award for 50 hours of community service. The other reason is to give students an opportunity to work with animals. This volunteer assistance could even help people to decide if a job working with animals would be a career option. Mrs. Littlefield’s husband, Ron, has been the manager of Petland for five years and is working on the schedule times with students.