By Indigo Alcorta, GCC middle school coordinator

High school and middle school LOFT participants joined one another in December to create cat beds for the Dane County Humane Society. The Humane Society accepts cat bed donations so cats in their care have a cozy bed to help them feel safe when they arrive at the shelter.

Once the cats are adopted, these beds follow the cats to their new home to continue comforting them in their new environment. And who doesn’t love cute cats?

LOFT teens were very excited to support the Humane Society through this fun volunteer opportunity. Teens chose the color and design patterns — mixing and matching colors and designs to create fun beds for the cats. They had the chance to partner up with a friend or sit in a space occupied by students they had not met yet at Goodman and work together to get the job done.

Middle schoolers teamed up with high schoolers and had the chance to get to know one another personally, which is not something that is done every day due to differences in program schedules. This is also an opportunity for some middle schoolers to catch up with familiar high school faces who were previously in the middle school program.

Goodman youth formed and strengthened connections through practicing their social skills, as well as gaining confidence while trying new things and working with kids older and younger than themselves. Not only did this project benefit our community here in Dane County, but it also benefited and strengthened the middle and high school student community here at Goodman. LOFT looks forward to bringing middle and high school programs together to do more community work in the near future.

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