WHEREAS, Kensey Jones, a second-grade teacher at St. Michael's Episcopal School and an animal welfare volunteer, worked with Richmond Animal Care and Control director Christie Chipps Peters to create an innovative project that allowed students to help animals at a rescue shelter find forever homes; and

WHEREAS, while developing a persuasive writing assignment for her class, Kensey Jones was inspired to also help the numerous animals at the Richmond Animal Care and Control shelter that were awaiting adoption; and

WHEREAS, Kensey Jones assigned each student a cat or dog that was currently up for adoption and directed them to create a personalized message and illustration to introduce the animals to potential adopters; and

WHEREAS, Richmond Animal Care and Control posted the students' work on its Facebook page, and thanks to their hard work, 24 of the animals, many of whom had been long-term residents of the shelter or had health issues, were adopted; and

WHEREAS, Kensey Jones and her students were featured on the websites of Good Morning America and Today, as well as The Drew Barrymore Show and The Kelly Clarkson Show; and

WHEREAS, due to the success of Kensey Jones' project, Richmond Animal Care and Control, which is the only open admissions shelter in the city and provides emergency care to more than 3,000 animals each year, plans to expand the program to additional schools; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Kensey Jones hereby be commended for her work with her second-grade class to help shelter animals find loving homes; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Kensey Jones as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for her achievements as an educator and an advocate for animals.