On March 26th, 2012 twenty-three 8th grade students in the HEART program at Stockton Elementary School in Chicago took a four hour bus ride to Springfield Illinois to talk to their representatives about issues affecting animals in the state.
The students researched laws in the state relating to puppy mills, dog fighting and factory farming. Thanks to a grant from the ASPCA, these HEART students were able to make their voices heard and talk face to face with their representatives about what they believe should be done to better protect animals.
Check out the video put together by our volunteer extraordinaire Chuck Stepner.
Dear 8th grade students at Stockton,
I think you should all be incredibly proud of yourselves. You all showed so much compassion and thoughtfulness when you went to speak to the congressmen and congresswomen in Springfield. You truly made a difference for the animals because you spoke up for them when they couldn’t speak for themselves. You all give me hope for the future. Thank you for your commitment to standing up for what you believe in and for making a difference.
I was so happy to see all of you in this video make a stand for animal rights. How brave you all were! It is so important that we don’t torture animals in any way. Thank you HEART program for all you have done for animals and introducing it to the education system. I wanted to share a special motto with you that I wrote:
My heart cries out to all animals that are tortured so, while Vegans make my heart soar…
Tammy