Kids and Dogs Need Protection

I was teaching a student to help him prepare for his bar mitzvah, and part of his online education is for sure learning how to sing his Torah portion. But he had left Hebrew School a few years ago because he wanted to learn more than the language. For his bar mitzvah, my student wanted to learn how to make an impact in the world. My student loves animals and human beings equally. So he did a little research. Founded in 1877, the American Humane Association is the only national organization dedicated to protecting both children and animals. A nonprofit membership organization, American Humane is headquartered in Denver. Through a network of child and animal protection agencies and individuals, American Humane provides national leadership in developing policies, legislation, curricula and training programs — and taking actions — to protect children and animals from cruelty, abuse, neglect and exploitation. Hundreds of child welfare and child protective services agencies and professionals are members of American Humane. In addition, hundreds of local humane societies, SPCAs and animal control agencies across the country are member organizations of American Humane. As members, those individuals and organizations benefit from the national leadership, expertise, resources, information exchange, trainings and programs that American Humane provides.American Humane also raises awareness about The Link® between animal abuse and other forms of violence, as well as the benefits derived from the human-animal bond. Our regional office in Los Angeles is the authority behind the No Animals Were Harmed® end credit disclaimer on film and TV productions, and our office in Washington advocates for child and animal protection at the federal and state levels. My online bar mitzvah student decided that this is a cause and charity that he wished to support. He understands that the singing part of his bat mitzvah is just a small percentage of what it’s all about. The larger part is learning how to become a great human being who looks out for opportunities to be good and kind – this is the Jewish education at CoolCantor