After one month of collecting animal supplies, the lucky animals at the Arlington Welfare League received their holiday presents on Wednesday, thanks to the McLean Humane Society and the generosity of students and staff.

"This year's [drive] was definitely successful," club member Rebecka Hoffman said. All three boxes, located in the library, main office, and room 260 were overflowing by the time club members emptied them on Wednesday.

Every year, the club chooses a new animal shelter to donate their collected supplies to. This year's shelter, The Arlington Welfare League, took in many puppies from a puppy mill in Hillsville, Virginia, which was discovered last month after a five month investigation by the Humane Society of the US. This year’s shelter is also a “no kill” shelter, meaning the animals rescued are not put to sleep if left unadopted.

Special education teacher, Ann Broyhill has been the club's sponsor for six years. Broyhill strongly believes in adopting animals from shelters and pounds instead of pet stores or breeders because all animals deserve a home regardless of appearance. In addition, she encourages club members to foster an animal from a shelter even if it is just for a short time.

“If you give [the adopted animals] time to come around they become the most loyal ones,” Broyhill said.

Another safe way to adopt an animal Broyhill said is to contact a veterinarian because they keep homeless dogs for about a month before transferring them to pounds.

Two weeks ago, on December 6, the club showed a screening of the movie "Ratatouille," which attracted about thirty students according to club member Hannah Menchhoff. Instead of money, admittance into the movie was a pet supply which would be donated to the drive. Donated items range from paper towels to the most popular item of animal food.

After the holidays, the need for help at shelters does not come to an end. "During the holidays people give pets as presents and it doesn't always work out," Hoffman said. Some of the unwanted animals end up at shelters, and overcrowd them.

According to Menchhoff, a majority of the upcoming projects for the McLean Humane Club this year include volunteering at Petsmart and Petco on Saturday mornings to walk the animals and help out with adoptions, and volunteering at shelters around the Washington DC area. During spring break the club hopes to take a field trip to "Rikki's Refuge" in Orange County, VA, which is a 370 acre "no kill" sanctuary for a variety of types of animals. which is to learn what goes into taking care of homeless animals.

For students who want to help animals in a unique way, "The kindest thing you can do is pick the oldest animal or the animal that has been [at the shelter] the longest," Broyhill said.