JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville student has made a mark at Jacksonville Humane Society as the first child to log 100 volunteer hours of reading to pets.
For more than two years, Nehemiah Turner has walked into the Jacksonville Humane Society with his Grandma. The 11-year-old has racked up more than 100 volunteer hours through the Pawsitive Reading program, and it’s the first in the program’s history!
“Soothing, feels good, calm, comforted animals, not like a whole bunch of barking is happening,” said Nehemiah Turner.
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The Pawsitive Reading program is available for kids of all ages. It’s proven to lower stress levels in animals and help kids to work on their literacy skills.
"100 hours read here at the shelter is such an amazing accomplishment over two years. That’s some serious, serious dedication for a young person like Nehemiah," said Lawrence Nicholas, CEO.
And that dedication pays off for both him and the pets waiting to get adopted. Turner is heading into sixth grade a straight-A student.
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"This is a place where we can put the tablet and the electronics down, pick up a good old-fashioned book, and read to somebody who really wants to hear your voice. How can you beat that?" said Lawrence Nicholas, CEO.
Action News Jax anchor Shay Simon asked Nehemiah what his next chapter could look like after reading for 100 hours.
He said, "What’s next? I think we got to set up a new hour. So I think I set up like 110, 150, and 200 hours."
The Pawsitive Reading program is available now: https://jaxhumane.org/read
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