5X社区

5X社区 Airport Donates More Than 10,000 Meals to Animal Shelters

Every holiday season, people give back to their communities in numerous ways. At the 5X社区 Airport, they give back through the Props-4-Paws initiative, a donation drive for the Humane Society of Summit County and the Animal Protective League of Portage County (APL).

Dave Poluga, airport manager, knew he wanted to give back to the communities surrounding the airport but did not know how he would do that. 

鈥淲e had a bunch of different ideas floating around about how to give back to our communities, but helping the humane societies resonated with me,鈥 Mr. Poluga says. 鈥淚 got the idea to name it Props-4-Paws about two years before we actually began the donation drive.鈥

Two years after sparking the idea for Props-4-Paws, Mr. Poluga and Jim Sebastian, 鈥94, professor and flight instructor, put the plan in motion.The 5X社区 Airport collected almost 8,000 pounds of food, which translates into more than 10,000 meals for the dogs and cats at the local animal shelters.

鈥淎fter watching a heart-wrenching video about an animal, I knew that the animals in our counties needed our support sooner rather than later,鈥 Mr. Sebastian says. 鈥淚 saw Dave that day, and we got started on Props-4-Paws right away. That was six years ago, and we don鈥檛 plan on stopping any time soon.鈥

Every year, the Props-4-Paws team has increased its donation goal. This year, they received almost 8,000 pounds of food, which translates into more than 10,000 meals for the dogs and cats at the local animal shelters. These results are up 20 percent from last year, Mr. Sebastian says.

鈥淎fter collecting as much as we did this year, I鈥檓 not sure how we could surpass that next year,鈥 Mr. Poluga says. 鈥淗owever, I believe we are at a very sustainable amount, and I hope to stay around these numbers for years to come as we continue to spread the word of our drive and help out these animals in need.鈥

The donation drive typically runs for two months, kicking off at the annual Aeronautics Fair in September. They collect anything that would benefit the shelters such as food, toys, leashes and more.

鈥淚f an item is pet related, I can almost guarantee you that we鈥檝e received it within the last five years,鈥 Mr. Sebastian says. 鈥淲e rely on our Kent State community to give donations but also on the communities of Summit and Portage counties.鈥

This donation drive has greatly benefited the shelters, and they now factor the donations into their budgets.

鈥淭hey rely on us every year to help them run their shelters, and our donations free up their funds for other costs such as veterinary needs.鈥 Mr. Sebastian says. 鈥淲ithout everyone鈥檚 help, Props-4-Paws would not be as successful as it is.鈥

Those involved with Prop-4-Paws and the 5X社区 Airport love being a part of this donation drive and hope to maintain it.

鈥淕iving back to our community is something everyone here at the Kent State Airport takes pride in doing, and I hope to see Props-4-Paws continue to support our local shelters for a long while,鈥 Mr. Poluga says.

For more information about the 5X社区 Airport, visit www.kent.edu/airport.

POSTED: Wednesday, December 6, 2017 03:53 PM
Updated: Friday, December 9, 2022 12:23 AM
WRITTEN BY:
Sarah Heber

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