This content was published: February 24, 2000. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Helping the Homeless, Helping Their Pets
Photos and story by James Hill
PORTLAND — On Saturday, March 4, the Portland Community College’s Veterinary Technology department at the Rock Creek Campus will take to the streets of Portland. The program’s Friends Helping Friends project will once again help out the homeless and their pets by providing sack lunches, clothes, blankets, pet exams, vaccines and pet food. PCC volunteers will be out in front of the Blanchet House of Hospitality, located at 340 N.W. Glisan in Portland, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be about 25 students from the vet tech program contributing to the community event, which is in its third year. The goal is to focus on getting help primarily to the animals, serving about 100 people and their pets each year. The vet tech volunteers will perform physical exams on the animals, vaccinate them, and hand out donated pet food and toys to the owners.
"I remember the day we first thought this up," said Dolores Galindo, a founder of the project and the instructional support technician. "Myself and another student were thinking about what we could do as a community service and we thought there was a real need for getting stray animals off the streets. So, we decided to focus on the homeless who are more likely to pick up strays."
The vet tech students can claim the upcoming project as a winter term community service and earn $200 for their student club through ASPCC (student government). The program is committed to performing community programs that are centered on animal enrichment. For more information on this project, contact Galindo at 503-614-7330 or instructor Dr. Phil Cochran at 503-614-7461.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »