The CIA Club to Visit Animal Acres Sanctuary

Students in humane education group to meet rescued farm animals face-to-face

Orange County, Calif.—On Tuesday, November 27th, students from The Compassion In Action (CIA) Club will be taking a field trip to Animal Acres, a Los Angeles-based refuge for rescued farm animals, to learn firsthand about life at the sanctuary by meeting cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals up close, and to help out around the sanctuary. Many of the students going on this trip attend Newport Harbor High School, which is the alma mater for most of the stars on MTV's hit reality television show "Newport Harbor." Others study at neighboring Costa Mesa High School, where The CIA Club has recently established a new chapter.

Newport Harbor High School teacher Karen Coyne, President and CEO of The CIA Club, started the non-profit organization in 2005 to provide learning opportunities and experiences for members of the next generation that will help them become the compassionate, healthy, conscientious leaders of tomorrow. "Through The CIA Club, teens learn what is really going on in the world when it comes to animals...things that they won't learn about in textbooks," says Coyne. The students also apply real world solutions to what they learn through activities such as raising money for other non-profit organizations, screening films, building mini-libraries, inviting guests to speak at schools, working to get vegetarian options on school cafeteria menus, promoting alternatives to animal dissection in science classes, and much more.

The bus to the sanctuary will leave Newport Harbor High School, 600 Irvine Avenue in Newport Beach, at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, November 27th, and arrive at Animal Acres, 5200 Escondido Canyon Road in Acton, at approximately 10:00 a.m. The day will begin with a presentation and tour of Animal Acres during which students will learn about factory farming and hear stories about where the farm's rescued animals came from. Attendees will then enjoy a vegan box lunch, courtesy of The Veggie Grill, and from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. will help out around the sanctuary by doing chores such as cleaning the barns where animals sleep, earning community service hours. After this, the kids will say goodbye to the animals (for now) and head back to school around 1:00 p.m.

The trip is being sponsored in part by In Defense of Animals (IDA), an international animal protection organization that promotes plant-based diets, which are good for animals, human health, and the environment.

For more information, contact Karen Coyne, or visit the following websites:
The Compassion In Action Club: www.TheCiaClub.com
Animal Acres: www.animalacres.org
In Defense of Animals: www.idausa.org