Valley Stream kids go to bat for strays

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Fifth-grade students from Brooklyn Avenue School visited Bobbi And The Strays’ (BATS) no-kill animal rescue shelter in Freeport on March 17, to drop off needed supplies and to present shelter director Bobbi Giordano with more than $200 in donations.
The donations were the result of a brainstorming session in which teacher Karen Kane encouraged her students to come up with ideas for community service as part of their Spirit Week celebrations. Class member Hannah Wallach, whose family adopted their dog from BATS suggested the charity. A visit from shelter volunteer Dennis Kanyuk, accompanied by Princess, one of the shelter’s rescues, sealed the deal.
The students donated food, laundry and dishwashing detergent, and vinegar in addition to the money raised from among Wallach’s classmates. Kane encouraged the students in the project.
BATS has been rescuing dogs and cats from the street for more than 10 years. “We can only accept street rescues,” Giordano, who took over seven years ago, said. “We can’t accept animals from owners who are moving or looking for someone to adopt their pet. We don’t have the facilities.
“These kids are wonderful,” Girodano continued. “We do a number of programs in the schools. We talk about bullying and about being kind to animals. A lot of bullying starts with cruelty to animals.”

The shelter will hold its 10th annual walkathon on May 6 (“rain or shine,” Giordano said), from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., at Marjorie Post Park in Massapequa. The walk will begin at the Unqua entrance at the corner of Unqua Road and Merrick Road.
Shopping at AmazonSmile also helps Bobbi And The Strays. Each purchase at smile.amazon.com generates a donation to the shelter.
After dropping off the supplies and donations, students sang a full-throated rendition of “Jingle Bells,” with appropriate text adaptations to make it germane to the pantry. After hiding for most of the presentation, Hannah’s 3 1/2-year-old sister Sienna stepped out from behind her father, and with a big grin yelled the shelter’s slogan: “Adopt! Don’t shop!”