Reed Intermediate School fifth grade student Fisher Stites was celebrated by the Board of Education at its meeting on Tuesday, October 4, for his efforts to support the Danbury Animal Welfare Society (DAWS) last school year while a Hawley Elementary School fourth grader.daws.org, had a wish list of needed items.

The Board of Education frequently schedules portions of its meetings for Celebrations of Excellence. Superintendent of Schools Joseph V. Erardi, Jr, introduced Fisher to the school board at the meeting.

Each fourth grade student completes a citizenship project at Hawley, according to Dr Erardi, who said Fisher put his project into "overdrive.

"And ended up with an extraordinary gift, giving to the Danbury Animal Welfare Society to a point where they will be honoring Fisher ... at their annual recognition program for outstanding young adults [who offer support] toward their organization."

The fourth grade students at Hawley also create presentations for their project, and Fisher shared his, "A Happy Holiday for Shelter Dogs," presentation with the school board. The presentation was projected onto a screen as Fisher narrated.

Fisher said he likes dogs a lot, so he knew he wanted to gather donations to give to shelter dogs. The DAWS website,

"They needed dog toys, blankets, towels, and dog treats," Fisher read. "I wrote it on a piece of paper to remember."

Fisher also shared what he learned from his project.

"I learned that a lot of dogs don't have homes," said Fisher. "The dogs are very hungry, and need to have fun. Some dogs aren't lucky enough to have homes, and we need to help them."

Fisher said he completed his collection project to make dogs happy.

"People donated so much stuff," Fisher said.

Fisher thanked DAWS for "being kind," the Newtown Youth Wrestling Association for "donating so much," and Your Healthy Pet for "being so generous" for his project.

Board of Education Chair Keith Alexander presented Fisher with a certificate for his effort in organizing the collection and for bringing awareness to the dogs at DAWS.

"I think it is great," said Mr Alexander. "And I think that you were able to let not only your class, your wrestling class, [but also share with] the rest of the community know how important it is to help other people."

Fisher's father, Chris Stites, and his grandmother, Lucy Harriman, were in the audience for the celebration, and his mother, Rebekah Harriman-Stites, watched Fisher read his presentation from her board member seat at the table.