San Marcos High School student organized pet food drive, collected 400 pounds in one week
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A San Marcos High School student saw first-hand how appreciative families were to receive pet food after volunteering for C.A.R.E.4Paws' mobile veterinary clinic, inspiring her to host a pet food drive at her former elementary school.
Ava Vasquez, a freshman at San Marcos, worked directly with teachers at Vieja Valley Elementary School to get all the students on board for the pet food drive and ended up raising 400 pounds of pet food in one week, according to Isabelle Gullo, C.A.R.E.4Paws Executive Director.
“During the pandemic, I have volunteered at C.A.R.E.4Paws’ mobile veterinary clinic, handing out pet food,” Vasquez said.
“I see how appreciative the families are for the food, so I thought it would be a really good project to get other students involved to help families that need pet food.”
Vasquez sent students home with flyers to let their parents know about the drive, and every classroom at the school had its own large donation box that was donated by the Home Depot in Lompoc, Gullo said.
“We could not be more grateful for Ava and the generosity of the students, parents, and teachers at Vieja Valley Elementary,” says Wendy Domanski, C.A.R.E.4Paws’ Community Programs & Volunteer Coordinator, who helped Vasquez prepare for the drive.
“We’re also incredibly thankful for our business and nonprofit partners for joining forces to support those in need. Not to mention the thousands of individual donors who have contributed food and funds to help fellow community members.”
C.A.R.E.4Paws serves more than 20,000 pet families in Santa Barbara County that need help providing their pets with critical services such as veterinary care, spays, neuters, and pet food, Gullo said.