Ways for Kids to Go Orange
FROM: B-BALL THE CAT TO: ALL KIDS WHO LOVE ANIMALS
“ORANGE” you glad that April’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month? I certainly am, and it’s my job to get YOU excited, too. Since the ASPCA’s official color is orange, we’re asking people to “go orange” all month long to show they care about animals—and kids can be a HUGE part of the orange crowd. We invite you and your friends to celebrate for the entire month, telling the world that you love animals and don’t want to see them hurt.
Here’s a list of fun things you can do:
GO ORANGE FOR A DAY!
Take a Big Gulp
Mix up some orangeade or orange Kool-Aid and have a sale to benefit your local animal shelter.
…And Have a Big Bite!
Have a bake sale for animals. Make orange cupcakes and orange dog- and cat-shaped cookies. Don’t forget that your cookie animals need to wear collars—you can make those with orange frosting. (P.S. A little food coloring goes a long way.) If it’s not possible to have a bake sale, get some friends together and make a batch of cookies for the whole class.
Make a Statement
A whole crowd of kids, their teachers and parents dressed up in orange can be seen from pretty far away. Ask your principal to set aside a day in April when everyone wears orange and gathers in front of the school or in the auditorium for a group photo. Have your teacher upload the photo to Flickr and label it "goorange2009" so that the whole country can see you. Speeches can even be made about how to fight cruelty against animals.
Hand it Over
Dip your hand in orange paint and make a "We Love Animals" banner with orange handprints all over it.
Show Your Shelter Some Love
Ask your teacher if your class can send letters to your local animal shelter, thanking the staff and volunteers for taking care of the animals in your neighborhood who don’t have homes.
Be Animal Activists
Write a class letter to Congress letting your government officials know that animal cruelty is a crime. Pets—with and without homes—must be protected under strong laws.
Get Moving
Work with your teachers and parents to plan a dog walk in your town where pooches and their humans go orange. Of course, strolling through your town with your friends (both furry and human) is just as good, too—as long as you’re all wearing something orange!
Light Up Your Town
Last year NYC got the Empire State Building to go orange. Can your class write to your city council and get an important building—like the library or local museum—to go orange at sundown for one day, one week, the whole month?
GO ORANGE FOR THE WHOLE MONTH!
Shoe Us Your Style
Wear orange shoelaces every day in April!
Drive it Home
Hold a supply drive by putting out boxes in your school cafeteria where people can drop off blankets, pet food, toys and leashes for your local animal shelter. With the help of an adult you trust, you can bring the supplies to your shelter once a week.
Join the Club
Wish there was an animal club at your school? Now’s the perfect time to start one. Ask your fave teacher to be your advisor, and at your first meeting you can discuss all the cool things you can do to help animals, like raising money for your local shelter. And for your very first event, you guys can plan to…
…Wear Orange!
Open your closet and get out those bright orange pants, hats, caps, bandannas, shirts, sneakers and socks! No worries if the orange clothing fairy passed you by, though—orange nail polish makes quite a statement, too! Or how about getting some fabric paint (ask an adult to help you find one that’s safe to use) and having an Orange T-Shirt Painting Party with your friends? If you’re stumped for ideas on what to paint, how about a portrait of moi? |
Calling All Bookworms
Ask your teacher if your class can spend the month reading about animals. We’ve got some great book suggestions.
You can also get your friends together at your house for a book club discussion to talk about one great animal-themed book that you’ve all read.
Post It!
Make posters about fighting animal cruelty. We’ve got all the facts on Animaland:
- How To Make Your Home Safe for Pets
- How Kids Can Help Animals
- The Truth About Circus Animals
- How to Report Animal Cruelty
- Endangered Species
Become an Animal Cop
Make orange badges and get together with your friends to learn to recognize the signs of animal abuse and how to report cruelty. Once you’re sure of the facts, patrol the neighborhood, making sure the pets you know look well-fed and are getting lots of loving attention.
How ‘Glow’ Can You Go?
Get that orange GLOW by wearing orange glow sticks and glow jewelry. How about a glow light party or parade? You can get glow sticks and jewelry at party supply stores, or ask your parents to help you find them online.
Lighten Up…and Brighten Up for Animals
OK, so you don’t have a tower like the one on the Empire State Building on top of your house, but you can still let the world know that animal lovers live in your home. Call a family meeting and figure out how you can deck the halls and walls orange. String or rope lights can be used to wrap the house, terrace, trees, lamppost, porch steps, mailbox—wherever! A nice big orange bow hanging on your front door would rock, too.
Hit the Streets
Offer to walk your neighbor’s dog or help an elderly friend in your town care for his or her animal companions. This is a great way to show how much you care for people AND pets. (P.S. You don’t have to wait until April to do this one.)
The Best Jobs in the World
Check out all of the jobs you can have that help animals and research what you’ll need to study in order to have one of these rockin’ careers.
