CONNOQUENESSING TWP — A group of youth hockey teams has donated supplies to the Butler County Humane Society, all thanks to a 12-year-old player.

Jared Chantz of Oakland Township, who plays left wing on a Butler Valley Youth Hockey Association team, came up with the idea to do something nice a couple of months ago when he was thinking about how much his parents and other team parents have done for him and his teammates.

“I thought we owed it to them and to us to start being better people now,” said Jared, a sixth-grader at Butler Middle School.

The idea to help pets and animals came from his 4-year-old sister.

“She loves animals,” Jared said.

Two of his former pets came from the humane society so that organization was his first choice to be the recipient of his good deed.

He brought the idea to his mother, Erin Schollaert, and she took it to the association's board, which approved it.

All 15 teams in the association — which has about 260 players — began collecting items to give to the humane society, calling the program Hockey for Hounds. Items requested included food, leashes, treats, litter, and cleaning and office supplies.

They were collected from mid-December to mid-January.

Association board member Mary Folmer said the board was happy to support Hockey for Hounds, and she said she was impressed by the effort the players and their parents put in — especially considering the collection took place during the holiday season.

“Everyone came together to support this for Jared,” Folmer said. “This was overwhelming.”

Jared said he was happy the board took the idea and ran with it.

“I'm just thankful that everyone on the board ... wanted to help. It wasn't just me,” he said.

Schollaert said she is pleased with her son's work.

“I'm proud of him, and I'm just so happy that the organization (allowed) it,” Schollaert said.

She said a final tally of how many items were collected was not available, but she said it filled about half of the association's office.

“They did a really good job,” Schollaert said.

The Dawgs gave the items to the humane society Saturday morning at its facility on Evans City Road in Connoquenessing Township.

Marci Mustello, vice president of the humane society board, said it was great the hockey organization chose to donate to the humane society, especially considering all of the other organizations in the county that they could have chosen.

“We're always humbled when young people consider the Butler County Humane Society,” she said.

She said the society relies entirely on donations for items like these.

“We're always in need of everything,” Mustello said.

She said the humane society's facility houses an average of about 50 dogs and 80 to 90 cats.