The event for “Somerset Regional Animal Shelter” was hosted by the Center for Leadership and Service, the organization consists of Kean University students. Advisor Scott Snowden is the one in charge along with “highly trained student workers” they are in the Miron Student Center room 219. The organization doesn’t only focus on community projects, but also on volunteering services, leadership development programming, writing, graphic design, student group development, and general reception, are all part of the responsibilities the students take on. But the focus is to
include the Kean University students with the community around them, and helping both the community and teaching students’ leadership skills and letting them “appreciate diversity.”
The purpose of this event was to help at the Somerset Shelter with all the responsibilities that come along with working at a shelter. A lot of times these shelters can’t afford to hire people so it really takes the community to volunteer to help them run the shelter smoothly. The organization Center for Leadership mainly created this event so they can have a partnership with the shelter and be able to do this event every year. Students were taken to the Somerset shelter with the sole purpose to show the Somerset workers and volunteers that Kean University students are capable and willing to help the many dogs and cats that are rescued. 
Personally, I chose this project because I love animals and I believe every animal deserves a good home. It is very dear to me knowing these animals that are rescued are being taken care of properly because I’ve heard terrible things about shelters. So, when I saw the opportunity to give my time and effort to help these innocent animals, I was sure I wanted to do it. There are so many events that a lot of people don’t hesitate to do and they go clean parks or rivers. But when it comes to dogs and cats a lot of people don’t want to because the idea of cleaning up poop is terrifying. I have two cats who are rescues so I had no problem with cleaning up poop for a day, and I’ve been dreaming about getting a dog as well so being able to interact with dogs who need love, was exciting. 
During the event, we got them to the shelter and went straight into the action, we got robes to protect our clothes from as many of the dogs had a kennel cough. The crew wanted to clean out the room where these dogs were located so they wanted us to walk the dogs while they did that. After walking the dogs for a while, I had to go inside because I ended up with a puppy and he was sick so I couldn’t keep him out for long, his name is Tucker. Then when the crew was done cleaning the room, we split into a different task to help in the shelter. I went out to clean up poop and all the toys the dogs had been playing with the outside to clean up. Some of the other girls (we were all girls), went on to clean the kitchen and some went to do the dishes and laundry. Though we didn’t do much it felt like we did a lot, we ended up folding all the blankets and moping the whole shelter which to me wasn’t a lot of work but for the people there it meant the world that we came to help.
In the end, I felt great, the way the leader Nancy thanked us as she left was a great feeling. It felt like a day’s work for me and to her, it meant so much. The dogs were the best part of this whole experience, they were so welcoming and loving to each of the volunteers, we all wanted to take one home. We didn’t get to interact with the cats too much which was sad about, but also happy to see that they had enough people taking care those little fur babies. It was also a relief to see that there are still shelters that work their hardest to help the animals that are in need, the idea that a shelter was this scary place has been erased from my brain. I did see some concepts from class during this experience, one of them being creating share value, as we got our hours for serving our community while also enjoying time with the dogs, the Somerset Shelter got our time to help clean creating both values for us and them. I also heard from Nancy the local cluster part of creating shared value, as it was the main thing she mentioned, she said that the community has a lot to do with the success of the shelter, people come and help out and in return, they get a great experience and even service hours for their work. There was also something as basic as a reusing the dog toys by washing them instead of just throwing them out after they get dirty and using newspapers for the cats to have a litter box. The shelter really utilizes every resource they have from blankets, toys, litter, food but also maintains the standard quality of life for the dogs. Overall I felt like I had helped my community specifically the animal community by going to the shelter and also learned a bit about the ins and outs of running a shelter which is something I want to do in the future, not as a business but more of a passion project I've always wanted to provide animals a place to go where they feel and are safe. Through my business, finance, and sustainability knowledge I plan to have an innovative shelter that will be sustainable while also maintaining the high standard from the Somerset Shelter.
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