House Springs Elementary School students recently created and delivered 28 colorful paintings of adoptable dogs housed at the Jefferson County Animal Resource Center in House Springs. The works of art will stay at the center until they are gifted to the dogs’ new owners on their adoption day.
Fourth-grade teacher Christen Hejlek of Cedar Hill and art teacher Michelle Howard of Dittmer organized the project, called Portraits for Paws. “The duo has overseen the elementary school’s ‘Art Leaders’ group for the past six years and wanted to create a community service project with an artistic twist for their students,” Hejlek said.
“Our school was talking about doing a service project. Michelle Howard and I have been art partners for a while, and we are both passionate about dogs, so I thought it would be awesome to team up with the local center and try to promote adopting while doing something creative with the students.”
“Art Leaders” is a group of students in kindergarten through fifth grade who meet once a month. It is a creative class designed to align with the school’s Leader in Me program, a character education program based on habits to build life skills and leadership.
About 25 of the group’s students, those in grades one through five, took part in the Portraits for Paws project, Hejlek said.
“This project truly is a win-win for the center and our Leader in Me mission,” Howard said. “The center and new pet parents receive the paintings while the kids get to do art and get involved in the community in a fun way.”
House Springs Elementary School student Vinny Bono, 8, makes a new friend at the Jefferson County Animal Resource Center.
The “Portraits for Paws” project was formed to not only teach students about the importance of pet adoption, but also for students to have a creative outlet and remind them that their efforts can leave a lasting impact.
“Schools do service projects all the time, but the kids don’t really get to see the outcome of it. That’s why I wanted to do this and keep it local too,” Hejlek said. “We have done similar projects in the past but nothing to the scale of this one.”
In October, the Art Leaders group was provided with images of adoptable dogs from The Jefferson County Resource Center. The students chose which dogs they wanted to paint portraits of and completed their artwork in January. Then, they delivered the portraits to the Animal Resource Center on Feb. 5.
“I love the students’ finished work. They did a great job, and I know being able to take a field trip to bring these paintings to the center is an extra exciting part for them,” Hejlek said.
Ella Bono, a fifth-grade student, and her brother, Vinny Bono, a second-grade student, both of House Springs, said they were excited about the opportunity to create the portraits.
“We loved being able to make art and use watercolor paint. It was super fun,” Ella said. “We each got to paint two dogs.”
Kiley Arnold, a third-grade student from House Springs, said she loves the Art Leaders group and loved the portrait project.
“Every time we come in to ‘Art Leaders,’ we always get to work on new fun things,” she said. “I painted a dog named Apollo. I hope he gets a good home.”
The Animal Resource Center, at 4848 Hwy. 30, once housed a church, but it was renovated and opened as the county’s animal control facility in 2022.
Beth Steinnerd of Perryville, the animal control manager, said she appreciated the House Springs Elementary teachers giving children the chance to learn about animals who need homes.
“The project was such a good idea and their artwork turned out so cute, it will be a nice added surprise to the adoption process for the new pet owners,” she said. “It really is rewarding to see kids learning more about what a shelter is and bringing a sense of positivity to the typically sad stigma associated with them. Young children have a voice too and can also share the importance of adopting animals.”
To see a list of the center’s adoptable animals, visit jeffcomo.animalshelternet.com.