Last Wednesday, when we arrived at the animal shelter, we walked into a lobby packed with people and animals. It was a happy chaos, though, for one of the dogs was being adopted, and as he prepared to walk out the door of the shelter and into the car which would take him home, one shelter worker after another came up to scratch his ears and say goodbye. The parents and children were all beaming, and the father promised to send on a picture in two months. As we stood around absorbing the scene - one which we get to actually witness all too infrequently - it was nice to have the reminder that this is the moment we are working for.

Once the family left and the last cries of "Goodbye!" died out, the volunteer coordinator, Rachel, said she had a special task for us. She gave each of the girls a pen and a clipboard with some lined paper. Their job, she said, was to choose a cat which had been around for a long time, spend 20 minutes really observing it and getting to know it, and do a write-up which they could then use to help find these animals a new home. "Can I have Fluffy? Is Fluffy still here?" asked one of the girls. Fluffy was still around, and he along with five other cats is now benefitting from these girls' work. (My own special task was rather less glamorous - emptying out and wiping down all horizontal surfaces!)

This day sums up what our community service program is all about - connecting with the community, enabling desperately needed work to take place, using various skills in a real-life context, and strengthening self-esteem. Linda Beaudoin frequently tells me "They were so glad to see us coming in, because they needed us to." help out with some special task, and she has spoken about taking her group to the Food Bank early one day so the girls can see what it's like when people come to pick up their food. When I called Poet's Seat Nursing Home, their volunteer coordinator was delighted we would be returning in the spring. "The residents so look forward to it," they said. So do the girls, of course, and they have an extra special place in their hearts for Mrs. Marguerite Spencer, who was a much-loved receptionist at Stoneleigh-Burnham many years ago and who loves being around girls from her old school. The other day, in fact, the girls called on Sharon Pleasant asking to see some! old yearbooks so they could find Mrs. Spencer's picture.

It is gratifying to see how much these charitable community organizations have come to trust and depend on us as the year progresses. It is also good to know that these connections, research shows, not only strengthen the girls' self-esteem but also tend to have a positive effect on their academic achievement. This week, the girls have completed sign-ups for the coming spring, and once we've heard confirmation from a new proposed site, we will let your daughters know what their final assignments are. As the light brightens and the days lengthen, it's nice to anticipate one more thing to brighten up the spring.