GHS Hand & Paw Club Help Animals through Schoolwide Photo Contest

Greenwich High School’s Hand and Paw Club members Jillian Barnett, Katy Wouters, Imogen Buck, Ava Nicoletti, Sophia Valencia and Blair Mulligan went to Outreach to Pets in Need (OPIN) in Stamford, Connecticut with Reagan and Chloe Sernick to donate the prize of the February Hand and Paw Club Pet Photo Contest. 

Featured in the photo at OPIN’s office are (left to right) GHS Hand-and-Paw Club members Sophia Valencia, Imogen Buck, OPIN volunteer Alexandra Perimenis, Hand-and-Paw Club members Ava Nicoletti, Jillian Barnett, Katy Wouters, Blair Mulligan, and GHS Pet Photo winners Chloe, Reagan and Dutch Sernick. Contributed photo

Many activities during the pandemic have been paused or canceled. However, that did not stop the Greenwich High School Hand & Paw Club from bringing their community together. In February, the Hand and Paw Club organized a virtual Pet Photo Contest for GHS students and staff to bond over their adorable pets.

Dozens of GHS students and staff submitted 92 photos of adorable birds, fish, hamsters, rabbits, cats and dogs.

After House and school-wide voting, Dutch, an 8-month-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and proud pup of Chloe and Reagan Sernick, won in the final school-wide round of voting with over 30% of the votes.

The Sernick siblings decided to donate Dutch’s prize to a local animal shelter. The Hand and Paw Club donated Dutch’s prize, a 20-pound bag of dog food and a basket of dog treats and toys, to Outreach to Pets in Need (OPIN) in Stamford.

At OPIN, they met with Alex Perminesis who discussed the mission of OPIN: to help foster dogs and offer free training classes and less expensive spay-and-neutering options for new pet owners. OPIN and the GHS Hand-and-Paw Club appreciates the generosity of the Sernick family.

 The Hand and Paw Club also organized a December donation drive. The proceeds of their donation drive, which consisted of more than 50 dog and cat collars, toys, food and supplies, were donated to Pet Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in Norwalk, Connecticut and Adopt-A-Dog in Armonk, New York. The Hand and Paw Club organizes donation drives and spreads awareness about safe volunteer opportunities at local animal shelters.

For more information about the GHS Hand-and-Paw Club, including new member registration form, please click here: GHS Hand and Paw Club.