AKC’s Leader of the Pack program is designed to get high school students involved in their communities. The mission of AKC Public Education is to foster and continue to find ways to ever strengthen the human-canine bond. By participating in this program, students will have an opportunity to give back to their own dog communities by volunteering in a series of activities of their choosing.
For participating in the program, AKC Public Education will offer a written letter of recommendation for the student to use towards their college application process.
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Project Proposal
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Each student taking part in the AKC Leader of the Pack program is required to complete a project proposal. You can find the form here: Project Proposal Form
Activities to be completed:
Students can choose from a list of dog related service opportunities in their community. Students can come up with their own activity, but it must be submitted to publiced@akc.org for approval. A list of suggested activities is provided below:
Ideas for activities students can complete:
- Volunteer to help clean up local dog park.
- Volunteer at a local Vet clinic or animal shelter.
- Volunteer to walk or care for neighborhood dogs.
- Fundraise for a local dog shelter or dog organization.
- Volunteer to create social media pages or take photos of dogs that are up for adoption.
- Check your local community for dog related events- Bark in the Park, 5K, etc. Reach out to the organization and ask to help set up/clean up.
- Reach out to a local dog club in your area and attend a meeting, help them with a local event or show.
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Service Hours
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20 hours are required as part of the program. Hours can be logged here AKC Leader of the Pack Service Hours .
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Essay
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The third and final requirement for the AKC Leader of the Pack program is a 500-word essay describing the student’s experience. The completed essay should be emailed to publiced@akc.org . The requirements for the essay are listed below:
- Write a 500 word essay detailing service experience.
- Include your connection to dogs or reasonings for choosing this program.
- Include a description of the project proposal.
- How did it benefit the dog community?
- Was any guidance received?
- Who helped carry out the project?
- What materials were used and how were they acquired?
- What did you enjoy about the project?
- What would you change, if anything?
- What did you learn in the process?
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Reference
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Provide at least one reference to verify project completion- someone you worked with during your project. Please have fill out the following link: Student Verification
Interested in AKC Public Education?