Marshfield, Mo – Addison Crider is a 16 yr old student at Marshfield High School. She plays volleyball, basketball and enjoys hanging out with her friends. During her free time Addison volunteers at the Humane Society of Southwest Missouri. She plays with the animals and tends to their needs, whether that be walking them outside or bathing them. She has a dog of her own, which might be a good reason as to why she volunteers and her love of dogs.

        Addison has a pure love for animals, when asked why she volunteers at the Humane Society, she said “I mainly just volunteer because I have a huge heart for animals, especially dogs. It makes me happy to see them happy and getting attention.” She genuinely cares for animals and isn’t looking for anything in return, the animals’ happiness is what pushes her to keep doing it.

     Addison sees herself as a community changer in the sense that they need help and extra hands and she provides it. She said, “I feel like I change the community by giving my free time to the shelter, since it is voluntary. They need the help and extra hands and I feel like I’m doing the right thing by providing it when I can.” The Humane Society is a volunteering place, so they rely strictly on people who truly care for the animals and don’t expect anything in return.

     The story behind her wanting to volunteer, is her best friend’s sister Paige Taylor, she really enjoyed it so Addison thought “why not give it a try?” Paige made a positive impact on Addison, by volunteering Addison took notice and believed she could change the community in the same way Paige did.

    One thing Addison would like to do is to inspire others to volunteer. She said “I hope to convince others to volunteer and I want to encourage more people to adopt from shelters. Too many people want purebred dogs.” Just because a dog is purebred doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll bbe a good dog. There are different factors that come in to play. She said, “there are both dogs and cats that would make an equally great pet at the Humane Society, purebred or not.”

      It’s really important for the younger generation to get active in the community and for them to start spending some of their free time volunteering in different places. Even a little bit of time, could go a really long way in helping to better the community. If the younger generation gets a sense of volunteering and helping others that would set the tone for our community in the future.

    Kids are really busy these days, they’re at school all day and after that some kids have extracurricular activities like sports or clubs they are involved in so it’s pretty hard for these kids to be active in he community. So when someone our age finds the time and makes the time to volunteer, it really shows the type of person they are. Addison is a great example, she’s active in volunteering and could inspire kids around her to volunteer as well.