New York Girls for Animals

A pilot initiative will launch this school year that encourages animal welfare among New York pre-teen and teenaged girls. The program Unleashed challenges the adolescent girls to find solutions to the ever-growing amount of homeless companion animals in New York City shelters. Unleashed teaches participants how to take leadership roles in issues involving animal welfare and sustainable problem-solving. In focus groups, founder Stacey Radin says she found that animal issues were common themes among subjects young girls were interested in. Unleashed begins this upcoming September and involves 45 girls from three middle schools in Brooklyn and Manhattan.