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PATCH kids bring bat home All creatures great and small, human and/or animal and simple acts of kindness are the focus of the Oakville & District Humane Society's Patch Challenge. The 2009 winners -- Madelyn Dunley, Sarah Fargiorgio and Matthew Yundt -- were chosen for their caring and concern for a baby bat. The Oakville & District Humane Society's Patch Challenge education program teaches children People and Animals -- Together Create Harmony. Each year approximately 5,000 students participate in classroom humane education programs, with The Patch Challenge program encouraging children to perform age-appropriate acts of kindness. Children then register their act of kindness with the ODHS for consideration. The program, which was launched in the 2002-2003 school year, began as a result of a donation to the ODHS by Oakville Toyota and Lexus dealer Frank Apa. The Patch Challenge education program pays tribute to the dog it honours -- Patch -- a well-known shih tzu owned by Apa. He was a company pet and corporate mascot that had an integral role at his owner's dealerships and typified how people and animals can interact positively. This year's winners of the Challenge demonstrated that despite the often bad reputation of bats, they too are worthy of kindness and `positive' interaction. Madelyn and her cousins Sarah and Matthew were returning home from the park last summer when they discovered a baby bat on the driveway. Bats are a natural part of the historic part of Milton so the children were not surprised to see it, but were concerned to see it in obvious distress. They wanted to help. Sarah's mother Sandra was present and was also concerned about the children contracting something unhealthy from the bat, so they called the ODHS. Madelyn and her cousins came up with the idea to call the shelter. The bat was brought to the shelter. The ODHS is not a licensed wildlife centre so the Toronto Wildlife facility was called and took the bat to rehabilitate it and return it to the wild. "Madelyn, Sarah and Matthew all demonstrated the true message of the Patch Challenge," said Heather White, ODHS outreach and education manager, "that all creatures, even bats, are worthy of care and kindness." To find out how your school can become part of The Patch Challenge in the upcoming school year, contact the Oakville & District Humane Society at 905845-1551 or visit www.oakvillehumane.ca. 9 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, August 13, 2009