NATCHEZ &045; At Adams County Christian School, doing community service is mandatory.

But Cindy Etheridge, seventh-grade science and family living teacher and community service program sponsor, said it can be hard to find charities that need physical help and not just money.

The Natchez-Adams Humane Society, however, takes any help it can get.

&uot;We can’t help them monetarily,&uot; Etheridge said, &uot;but we can help them with hours. I need people working.&uot;

In the past, ACCS students have pitched in at the humane society’s Bark in the Park, and each year, Etheridge gives Beta Club officers $100 to spend on much-needed supplies for the animal shelter like toilet paper and dog and cat food.

This week, ACCS Beta Club and Honor Society members are burning off some of their required community service hours baking goodies for the humane society’s bake sale.

Etheridge said the students are free to bake what they want, as long as they bake it on their own.

&uot;I don’t want mom making it,&uot; she said.

Etheridge knows all 53 of the kids know their way around the kitchen. After all, she taught them.

The students will also help out other humane society volunteers Saturday and Sunday at the bake sale.

The humane society isn’t the only organization that benefits from ACCS’s program.

Some students ring the omnipresent Salvation Army bells during the holiday season, and others help out at the Senior Citizen’s Center.

We just try to support anyone who needs our help,&uot; Etheridge said.

But Etheridge said the humane society is always a popular cause. Few hearts are hard enough not to melt when confronted by a sad puppy.

And with two dogs of her own, Etheridge has a soft spot for animals, too. &uot;I’m definitely an animal lover,&uot; she said.