PARSONS – Most folks look forward to having a long weekend off for the Martin Luther King holiday, but a local group of young folks chose to use their day off as a Day of Service. Tucker County AmeriCorps members spent last Monday volunteering at the Tucker County Animal Shelter.
Tucker County AmeriCorps members spent Martin Luther King Day helping out at the Tucker County Animal Shelter. Volunteers were Emma Donovan, Rachel Fedders, Travis Ferry, Mimi Gunderson, Sydney Haltom, Daniel Hobbs, Alex Hodges, Audrey Stefenson, Emily Wilson-Hauger and Becca Ferry.
The Martin Luther King Day of Service website urges Americans to make the holiday ‘a day on, not a day off.’ The site said millions of Americans served on the Martin Luther King Day of Service and encourages Americans to ‘carry over the spirit of service into the rest of the year.’
Emily Wilson-Hauger, one of eight Tucker County AmeriCorps members, said all AmeriCorps members in West Virginia planned and carried out service projects on the Martin Luther King Holiday.
“At the shelter, we mopped out stalls and helped reorganize storage spaces,” Wilson-Hauger said. “They were preparing for a large donation coming in that they are excited about. We helped them make room for that.”
Wilson-Hauger said the volunteers helped with some of the cleaning at the shelter that workers did not have time to complete. She said the group enjoyed playing with the shelter cats and dogs.
“Last year we did a similar project on the Governor’s Day of Service last year in April,” Wilson-Hauger said. “That is why we selected to do this again. We really enjoyed ourselves and we know how much the workers at the Tucker County Animal Service appreciated it, and we wanted to continue the relationship.”
“We were really impressed with how much work the Tucker County Animal Shelter workers do with what little they have,” Wilson-Hauger said. “I think that is a testament to them. All of the animals are treated very well there.”
The AmeriCorps members involved in the Martin Luther King Day of Service include Emma Donovan, who works with Cottrill’s Opera House; Rachel Fedders, who works with Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge; Travis Ferry, who works with Trout Unlimited; Mimi Gunderson, who works with Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge; Sydney Haltom, who works with Parsons Revitalization Organization (PRO)/Parsons OnTrac; Daniel Hobbs, who works with the Tucker County Development Authority & Tucker County Planning Commission; Alex Hodges, who works with The Nature Conservancy; Audrey Stefenson, who works with ArtSpring; and Wilson-Hauger, who works with New Historic Thomas & Woodlands Development Group. Becca Ferry, who is not an AmeriCorps member, joined the group for the day.
