What do you get when you combine an awesome kid with a desire to help his community and many wonderful shelter dogs? - Operation Pawesomeness!
Ben and Amy Hermes
It's a collection project created by eighth grader RJ Hermes from Sherman Oaks. Over the past few weeks, 13 year-old RJ has been running a campaign at Bridges Academy, complete with handmade posters and drop-off boxes, gathering items to help dogs living in SoCal shelters.
RJ tells KNX Heroes Host Heather Jordan, "I've been collecting dog essentials, from toys to blankets, beds, collars, and leashes—anything that would help a dog."
Ben and Amy Hermes
The operation has been super successful, bringing in a lot of donations, with the latest cache reaching 355 items.
RJ's parents, Ben and Amy, are incredibly proud of their young man.
"He has always loved dogs, and he's a very empathetic child, and it's pretty amazing that he came up with this," said Amy... "it's a passion project that was very important to him. And because we talked about that a lot of shelter dogs stay in the shelters for a really long time, he wanted to make them as comfortable as possible."
Team Hermes handed off the most recent haul of items to the East Valley Animal Shelter earlier this week, and RJ says he's already looking forward to his next project.
Ben and Amy Hermes
Want to donate? Connect with RJ and Operation Pawesomeness here or email them at operationpawesomeness@gmail.com.
Check out all our KNX Heroes here.
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