Traveling Canvases of Positivity

The SPCA of Texas is deeply appreciative of a very special young lady, Emma Graham, who recently completed her Girl Scout Gold Award Project focused on helping animals and lifting the spirits of the staff, volunteers and the general public who work, volunteer and visit the Jan Rees-Jones Animal Care Center in Dallas. Thank you, Emma, for pouring your beautiful heart, soul and spirit into this beautiful and touching project!

Emma sent us the following along with her project and many in-kind donations:

“My name is Emma Graham and I am a Girl Scout who attends Highland Park High School. I worked on my Girl Scout Gold Award Project, called Traveling Canvases of Positivity, for the SPCA of Texas.

I have always had a passion for animals and for my project I wanted to combine this passion with one of my favorite hobbies, calligraphy. So, I came up with the idea of Traveling Canvases of Positivity, which are large canvases with inspirational quotes written in calligraphy on top of a watercolor background, for the SPCA of Texas’ facility. The ultimate goal for my project is to spread positivity at the SPCA of Texas not only to the animals, but also to the workers, volunteers, and anyone who may enter the facility.

I started off my project by focusing on spreading positivity to the animals in the facility. In order to do this, I hosted a small donation drive where I received over two hundred items to donate to the SPCA of Texas, including dog and cat toys, dog and cat food, bedding, and more. I also hosted dog and cat toy making classes with volunteers where I taught my volunteers how to make Snuffle Mats, rope toys, and cat hiding houses.

First, with my volunteers we made Snuffle Mats, which are made from felt strips woven through a sink mat. The workers and volunteers can hide treats in the Snuffle Mats for dogs to find in order to stimulate the dogs’ brains and create a fun game. Also, with my volunteers we made rope toys for the dogs at the SPCA of Texas with felt.

Now that the dogs at the SPCA of Texas had some fun games and toys, next I wanted to spread some positivity to the cats. So, with my volunteers we created cat houses from cardboard boxes. We made them look fun by painting the houses we constructed and giving them a theme. For example, one of the houses was painted to look like a spaceship and another was painted to look like a beach house. These cat hiding houses provide cats with a fun, colorful place to relax and hide inside.

The next goal for my project was to spread positivity to the workers, volunteers, and anyone who may enter the SPCA of Texas. So, with my volunteers we created four Traveling Canvases of Positivity, which will be put around the facility. The inspirational quotes in beautiful calligraphy lettering will remind the helpers of the SPCA of Texas why they are there and how much they mean to all of the animals, further inspiring them to keep doing their amazing job. These canvases are called Traveling Canvases of Positivity because they can be moved anywhere and spread positivity wherever they go.

Finally, I wanted to make sure that anyone would be able to spread positivity to their pet or animals, so with the help of a local veterinarian I created an educational digital flyer that educates people on how to keep their pet happy and healthy, focusing on their diet, health, and environmental enrichment. Overall, I am extremely happy that I was able to spread positivity to animals, workers, volunteers, and possible pet owners at the SPCA of Texas. I am very thankful that I was able to work with the SPCA of Texas for my Girl Scout Gold Award Project and make a difference to help my favorite thing, animals.”

We invite the public to make a difference in animal’s lives as Emma has.  Learn more about the many ways you can support the SPCA of Texas today.