Press Round up

Humane Society Silicon Valley September 2010 Newsletter

Two Paws Up to Henry Tien Shing Keys for collecting more than 50 blankets for our shelter animals! Henry and his mother Vivian wanted to do a fun summer project that would benefit the animals at our shelter. So, they set out to collect 40 blankets in 40 days! The two went to Freecyle and other locations to collect blankets, toys and other items. They also approached neighbors, family and friends for donations. They ended up surpassing their goal with 55 blankets and an assortment of toys and other items for our shelter animals.

"It's fun to help animals at the Humane Society because they need to be happy while they're waiting to be adopted," said Henry, who attends Fisher Middle School in Los Gatos. Mother Vivian says that collecting items for the animals was a great project because it challenged Henry, gave him a goal and kept him occupied during the last month of summer. Henry, who posed for a photo with Dino, one of our shelter guests who we highlighted in this enewsletter, said he enjoyed meeting the large dog. "Dino is a very sweet, adorable dog. I haven't really been around a large dog before," said Henry whose family has a 15-year-old pug at home. "I hope he finds a home."

Los Gatos Weekly Times September 7, 2010

Henry's been 'dog'-gone busy, collecting blankets for animals

When asked what he did over summer vacation, Fisher Middle School sixth-grader Henry Tien Shing Keys has a ready answer: He collected blankets and bags of toys to donate to Humane Society Silicon Valley.

Henry also attended basketball camp and went hiking, biking and golfing with his father, but the month of August was activity-free, so he and his mom came up with a project to collect 40 blankets in four weeks and donate them to HSSV.

"It was a way to get me thinking and get me through the entire month," Henry said. "Otherwise I would have been playing video games and watching TV."

At 11 years old, Henry is too young to volunteer at the shelter, so this was his way of giving back. "I wanted him to have a summer project, and he loves animals," mom Vivian Keys said. "I helped, but he managed the whole thing."

Henry and his mom used electronic media to solicit donations from family members and friends. "We mostly did everything on e-mail," Keys said. "We belong to the Los Madres parenting group and Freecycle neighborhood groups in Los Gatos and Campbell. We also contacted Facebook friends."

Henry knows how to use all those programs and was able to put them to good use, collecting 55 blankets in less than four weeks and exceeding his original goal.

"It was a fun project," Henry said. "It's also fun to help animals at the humane society because they need to be happy while they're waiting to be adopted."

When Henry and his mom took the donations to HSSV, Henry met a shelter dog named Dino. "Dino is a very sweet, adorable dog," Henry said. "I haven't really been around a big dog before. I hope he finds a home."

The Keys have a 15-year-old pug named Bucky, so were unable to adopt Dino themselves. "We want to focus on Bucky," Vivian said. "He went to all the concerts in town this summer."

Meantime, the humane society is planning its eighth annual Walk 'N' Wag fundraiser that will take place Oct. 2 at the Animal Community Center's campus, 901 Ames Ave. in Milpitas.