For a community service project, Mill Creek fourth-graders donated supplies to help Madison Animal Rescue Foundation (MARF). (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Fourth-graders from Mill Creek Elementary School recently helped prospective pets with Madison Animal Rescue Foundation (MARF).

In 2013, they decided to help “our furry friends have a great Christmas” by giving supplies to the MARF location at Petco in The Shoppes of Madison at 8213 U.S. 72, Davis said.

All fourth-graders participated in classes taught by Kim Pratt, Tammy Thorpe, Kayla Graham, Debra Weaver and Kylie Henriksen.

“Each year, we try to have students give back to the community in some way,” counselor Cindy Davis said. In past years, Mill Creek has donated to the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree and assisted school families.

The service project jived well with their reading unit, “How can you show your community spirit?” “The essential question students were to answer for the week was ‘How can one person make a difference?'” Davis said. Plus, MARF is a Madison-based organization

“We thought this project was a perfect example for students to practice making a difference for our community, specifically for the animals that needed our help,” Davis said.

Their goals were collecting any items that MARF needed to care for animals and helping students see one person can make a difference. Students brought canned and bagged food, dog treats, chew toys, clothes, beds, leashes, collars and a crate. They also helped unload supplies at Petco.

Fourth-graders Justin Diehl and Kaitlyn Taylor liked helping the MARF dogs. “It was fun. I liked the animals,” Hunter Mullins said. Nathaniel Martinez-Miller was glad to give food to the dogs and cats.

Starting the project after Thanksgiving break. Mill Creek teachers reminded students “how grateful we are to have food and shelter. But sometimes our furry friends are not so fortunate and need our help,” Davis said.

“We constantly reminded the students that one can of cat food can give one meal the cat might not have been able to have, or one bag of dog food could feed two or three dogs a meal,” Davis said.