Molly Wogan 1

Molly Wogan – 13 Year Old Helps Man’s Best Friend Find Forever Homes!

Molly Wogan of Middleton, MA loves dogs! Especially rescue dogs! So much so, that decided to give up the biggest party of her life to help them!

Molly’s family has two rescue dogs at home. When she learned that many dogs like hers lived in bad conditions or had their lives cut short, she decided to do something about it. She wanted to give back to the dog shelters that had helped her family find their family dogs.

So, instead of having a big party for her Bat Mitzvah, the 13-year-old decided instead to put the efforts toward helping dogs!  As Molly told WHDH, “Mitzvah means to do good and I wanted to focus on that instead of focusing on a party of a Bat Mitzvah. I don’t really need a party, but the dogs need the help.”

Molly was already a shelter volunteer helping out once each week. But then she decided to take things to the next level.

Molly started the Precious Animals Wonderful Shelters (P.A.W.S.) Project.  Its goal is to help dogs in bad situations travel across cross the country to find people who are willing to adopt them. Molly set a target to raise $2,500 in one year to give to 14 local shelters along with items like leashes, collars, and toys.

Over the year, her project grew. A lot!

Molly ended up volunteering over 400 hours and sold homemade dog toys, treats, and keychains at 45 different events in addition to a GoFundMe campaign. In just a year, she raised $38,000!

During this time she also took two “transport” trips from Georgia to her home state of Massachusetts, to help move 110 at risk dogs to the Northeast, where she helped every single one find a forever home! With the money Molly has raised, she can get every dog its shots, vaccines, medications, vet visits, food, and transport — about $200 total per pup.

Molly hopes to continue her efforts this year and save another 100 dogs!  She is a wonderful example of a young person following her heart and taking action to make the world a better place.

Molly is not only saving 100s of dogs lives, but she is changing the lives of the people who adopt them as well!

Check out more about Molly’s very inspiring story below and then see what you can do to help:

Additional Resources:

  • Here is the official website for Molly’s PAWS Project
  • Check out other inspiring stories from IMK about dogs and pets.

Topics for Discussion:

  • What character traits does Molly exhibit?
  • How are Molly’s actions making the world a better place?
  • Whose lives is Molly changing?
  • Have you ever thought about what you could do to help others?

Take Action:

Teacher Features:

  • Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills worksheet that you can use for elementary school students.
  • Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills worksheet that you can use for middle school students.
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