MSSPA Volunteers of the Year

Story by Lucia Owen, Volunteer

“It wasn’t my idea, it was my daughter Meghan’s,” explains Windham second grade teacher Kelly Rich. Three years ago she was looking for a class project using applied math skills that would also contribute to the community. She also wanted something concrete so the children could see what the money they raised was actually spent on. Meghan, the horse expert in the family, suggested helping the animals at MSSPA’s farm. The rest, as they say, is history. What could be more concrete than helping animals in need? The success of this class project is so remarkable that the Society has named Kelly and Meghan Rich the 2010 Volunteers of the Year. Kelly now begins each year by introducing the second grade parents to the novel idea that their children will not have a gift exchange at Christmas, nor will there be teacher gifts. Instead, the children will focus on helping others and then donate that money and any that they themselves raise. The fortunate recipient of both the donations and all that second grade energy is MSSPA.

Mrs. Rich’s second graders visit the farm in October. Barn manager Becky Jones gives them a tour of the barns and introduces them to many of the horses and tells some of their stories. An innocent question like “Why don’t the owners feed their horses?” can stop anyone’s heart. Why, indeed, don’t they? Mrs. Rich’s children often ask that question, and what they do in response to what they see and hear is a tribute to her commitment to both the children and to the welfare of MSSPA’s horses, dogs, cats, goats, and pigs.

Back in school, Kelly asks, “Do you think you can do anything to help the animals?” Everyone makes a list of what they can do to raise money. They do chores, donate allowances, collect bottles, write to family members, ask the neighbors. Three girls who were Brownies ran a bake sale with their troop and raised $100. The class made and sold its own tie‐dyed T-shirts. Kelly is quick to say that the project is not about how much money the class or any individual raises, and she is very clear about this when talking to parents. Everything goes into one fund. She explains to the class that even one dollar can be a significant gift. What if everyone in Windham donated $1.00? Applied math gives them an idea of how a small amount can become much larger.

Here is where Meghan’s expertise comes in. Kelly admits she knows very little about horses. Meghan does, so when they go with MSSPA’s list of needs to the Blue Seal Store in Windham it is Meghan who knows what horses need – including the coat polish Show Sheen, a class favorite. Kelly takes the list of the items, with cost and discount, to school, and the math project unfolds. All the second graders pull out their calculators. Kelly presents the list of MSSPA items and the total the class has raised. “How many of these items can we get? One of each? Or more than one?” Then they do estimates and financial prediction. “If we have enough for one of each, do you estimate that we have enough for two of each?”

Each year she has done this, Kelly says that the children always want to keep some money aside for hay and grain. They have done this each year with no prompts from her. Apparently they were listening when Becky asked, “What would it be like if you went home after school and didn’t have anything to eat or drink?” The impression made is profound. Mrs. Rich’s second graders know exactly what it takes to care for animals. Then at Christmas the class actually presents what it has bought for the animals, from cat toys to water buckets.

Last May Mrs. Rich’s second graders were presented with a legislative sentiment by the Maine Senate commending their kindness to animals. They had raised nearly $1,000 for MSSPA the previous fall. The Society needs to raise a million dollars a year for its operating budget since it is a public charity and receives no public funding. “See how important you become when you think of others in need,” said Mrs. Rich in reply to the children’s delight at being famous.

Kelly and Meghan both say that what has motivated them in this yearly project is simply a love for animals. The Rich family seems rich in other ways as well. Kelly grew up in Lewiston, and after several years teaching in other places, came to Windham to teach second grade. She’s done it for 21 years, and her career seems to vitalize and define her. Besides Meghan, she has a son, Zack, now a sophomore at Orono. His interests are mechanical engineering and technology, and he loves cats. Her husband Steve loves horses but has had no experience with them. But the horses he has met seem to really like him. In fact, he is the one who found Meghan’s wonderful dressage horse –on line. Meghan is getting ready for a show season with ‘Diva’ (aka ‘Dire Straits), a Hanoverian mare trained in dressage to Second Level. Going to shows has taught Kelly and Steve more about horses than they ever imagined there was to know. The Riches also share the house with two Siamese cats, Jag and Jake, and a Golden Retriever named Bodie. Meghan plans to take Diva with her to college, where she wants to study to be a vet so she can help at the farm. Kelly and Meghan and the Windham Primary School second graders have given MSSPA more than just hay and grain. They have helped the Society begin a long overdue process of networking and promoting itself in the community. The project has generated an ever-expanding basis of support. Businesses have been more than generous to the children. Parents who didn’t know they could actually visit the farm now do. Second graders become third graders and bring their families and friends as they grow up. Kelly waits a little uneasily for the first child of one of her former second graders to appear in class. She has built a web of awareness and caring for the abused animals at the farm. She has also taught life lessons that will resonate with the children fortunate enough to be in her classes. Naming her and her daughter Volunteers of the Year is the very least the Society can do to thank them for what they have done the animals and for MSSPA.