2012 Animal Hero Award

The YOUTH LEAD for a HUMANE WORLD Club at Hialeah High, founded and sponsored by Mr. Michel Estopinan, also founder of the Humane Foundation; received today the 2012 Animal Heroes Award, at the Humane Society of Greater Miami.

The Awards was presented by Susan Hargrieves, founder of Humane Educators Reaching Out, an non

profit organization with the mission to foster compassion and teach kindness and respect for all sentient beings.

The award was given based on the following accomplishments for the Animal Care and Protection Solutionary Team:

- Started the Vegan Fridays including a vegan lunch cart at the school’s cafeteria.

- Started a School Pet Adoption Program, helping many homeless or abandoned pets to find a forever home among our students.

- Assisted and helped rehabbed frozen lizards during winter time, rescued baby squirrels, birds and other wild life living in our school greens and/or surrounding areas, some were taken to the Humane Society Wild Life Hospital for specialized attention.

- Engaged in conversations with the science department to substitute dissections by virtual online or 3D models. Some teachers agreed not to use dissection and students refusing to do dissection learned to reclaim their right to request a dissection alternative.

- Have created cat beds to donate to the Humane Society of Greater Miami. We helped a lady feeding feral cats in Miami Beach with a generous cat food donation. We have also collected toys and blankets, pet food and treats to help those foster care people that rescue elderly and sick animals as well as those waiting t be euthanized.

- Implemented campaigns to raise awareness about local, national and international animal cruelty cases in different industries where students filled petitions, attended animal walks, did educational tabling, passed out flyers, and more.

- Conducted an Animal Related Career Presentation for seniors to invite them to choose career paths that can help animals in a variety of paths and industries.

among other activities, events and initiatives.

This is the text for the award: