LEAP empowers Middle School and High School students to become compassionate catalysts for change by addressing leadership in three main areas:

​

ETHICS
Students consider the ethics of using animals for food, clothing, scientific testing, and entertainment and learn about the resulting effects on human communities, industry, the animals themselves, and society as a whole. Students also build leadership skills including critical thinking, relationship building, and public speaking.

​

ANIMALS

LEAPers learn about issues impacting wild, companion, and traditionally farmed animals and learn to respectfully and responsibly interact with them, advocate for them, and care for them in a sanctuary setting. The program discusses animal sentience, enrichment, veterinary care, and more.

​

THE PLANET

Participants explore how animal agriculture impacts both climate change and the loss of native habitats and discover ways to positively impact the health of our ecosystems through diet and lifestyle choices, rewilding the land, personal responsibility, and community projects.

​

Join the LEAP program with AFS! Recruiting is open NOW.

 

• Our High School curriculum begins Saturday October 12th, and continues monthly on the 2nd Saturday of the month through June.

• Our Middle School curriculum begins Saturday January 18th and continues on the 3rd Saturday of the month through May. LEAPers who are interested are welcome to join in on the fun earlier and volunteer with us this Fall to become familiar with the sanctuary and our animal residents.

​​​

Program Format​

 

• Our High School session/visits to the sanctuary is about 4 hours in total (starting at 10am). This begins with 90 minutes of classroom time where we focus on a curriculum shared across all LEAP programs throughout the country. Next we have a lunch picnic (provided by AFS) together before moving into our activities for the day. This may focus on shadowing an AFS team member as they provide medical care to residents, do various animal care tasks that highlight the work to provide daily care to these animals, building/maintaining/harvesting the sanctuary garden, and so much more!

• Our Middle School session/visits to the sanctuary is about 3 hours in total (starting at 10am). This begins with 45 minutes of classroom time where we focus on a curriculum shared across all LEAP programs throughout the country. Next we have a lunch picnic (provided by AFS) together before moving into our activities for the day. This may focus on shadowing an AFS team member as they provide medical care to residents, do various animal care tasks that highlight the work to provide daily care to these animals, building/maintaining/harvesting the sanctuary garden, and so much more!

​