Dear readers,
Welcome to the first installment of “Valley Youth Making A Difference,” brought to you by the Valley Council for Health and Human Services and The Valley Indy.
The goal is to feature young people who are doing great things in the Valley community.
To nominate a young person, please visit the “Valley Youth Making A Difference” webpage, read the text, and fill out the form.
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Valley Youth Making A Difference: Connor Cabeleira
Connor Cabeleira of Seymour is an exceptionally thoughtful young man with a passion for animals. Having grown up in his mother’s dog grooming business, Doggie Styles in Shelton, he has inherited the love for dogs from his mother and grandparents.
Each summer for the past four years Connor has organized and run a lemonade stand with his cousin, Tiffany Brum of Oxford, to benefit Sarah Rescue and the Shelton Animal Shelter. His efforts have raised over $1,000 for the Shelton Animal Shelter.
He has donated over $100 of his allowance to this cause, and recently received a letter from Leon Sylvester, Animal Control Supervisor, thanking and praising him for his generosity.
Connor’s generosity and love for animals doesn’t stop there.
Each year, his family takes a trip to Turks and Caicos, where there is a plethora of dogs who do not have homes and live in shelters. Connor takes one day out of his vacation each year to visit the shelter and take the dogs for walks.
His family fell in love with one of the dogs they met on their trip and were able to adopt him and have him flown back to their home in Seymour. Caico now lives happily with the Cabeleiras and their other dog, Jaida.
Connor’s passion and selflessness have been praised by a few organizations that he takes part in.
He has been named the 5 – 7 Boy of the Year at the Boys and Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, Seymour Unit ‚as well as winning both the Character and Citizenship award and Helper of the Year award.
At the Club, he can often be found helping out the staff or assisting his friends with homework. He is consistently thoughtful and puts others before himself in nearly all situations.
He is an active Boy Scout and a fantastic big brother to 1 and a half year old, Elliot.
When asked why he spends so much time, effort and money to help dogs not only in the Valley, but everywhere he goes, he said: “Because it makes me very sad to think about animals in need. I wanted to make sure I did something to help them.”
To nominate a young person making a difference in the lower Naugatuck Valley, visit http://valleycouncil.org/youth-committee/youth-recognition-project/
