Grants for Teachers Who Have or Would Like to Have Small Pets in Their Classrooms

Online, March 10, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Pets in the Classroom is a new grants program supporting responsible pet care for our public school classrooms. Sponsored by the Pet Care Trust, the goal of the program is to establish healthy child-pet relationships at an early age by supporting responsible pet care in grammar school classrooms across the country. Many public school teachers have very limited resources for the support of classroom animals. That's why the Pet Care Trust is sponsoring this program to help teachers support pets in the classroom through direct, no-hassle grants.

Pets in the Classroom grants are offered to public school, Kindergarten through Sixth grade classes only. These grants are intended to support pets or aquariums in the classroom for the purposes of teaching children to bond with, and care for their pets responsibly. The welfare of the small animals involved is of paramount importance. "Our goal is to support placement of appropriate pets in schools where they will enhance the classroom experience and help kids learn about proper pet care," commented Steve King, Pet Care Trust Executive Director.

The grant process is easy. The teacher completes the online application form (found at www.petsintheclassroom.org). The application is reviewed by the Pet Care Trust and a certificate is sent to the teacher indicating the dollar amount of the grant. The teacher takes the certificate to her/his local pet store, purchases supplies and/or a pet, sends the receipt and certificate to the Pet Care Trust, and the grant money is then disbursed.
The program is flexible, allowing the teacher to select the pet that is most appropriate for the classroom. Grants are available for small animals (such as guinea pigs and hamsters), reptiles, small birds (finches, canaries) and fish. The website has links to information about the needs of and proper care for each type of pet.

Pets in the Classroom encourages the pet and/or supplies to be purchased locally. By going to the local pet store, the teacher and classroom are establishing a relationship with the pet store. The pet store is valuable resource for questions, help, solutions and more. Some pet stores will even sponsor the pet and classroom!

Teachers may reapply each year for Pets in the Classroom grants. Tell your colleagues about this wonderful new program sponsored by the Pet Care Trust.

The Pet Care Trust is a 501(c)(3) Foundation whose mission is to enrich the lives of youth and seniors through human interaction with companion animals by promoting the value of the human-animal bond through education and science. For more information about the trust, please visit their website www.petcaretrust.org