There are hundreds of cat shelters across the nation and the majority of them are run on donations. I love hearing about some of the creative fund-raisers launched on behalf of these shelters.
In Winthrop, Maine, for example, two men did push-ups to raise money for the no-kill P.A.L.S (Protectors of Animal Life Society). And they did the push-ups with a little help from some of the cats at the shelter. These two men, Dave Dotsie and Tony Routh went to the shelter each day in December and dropped among the cats where they did as many push-ups as they could. They earned over $1,000 for their efforts. The men managed 60 push-ups on their last day.
You don’t have to do push-ups in order to help cats. There are numbers of other ways you can help out your favorite animal rescue organization.
- Pass along items an animal shelter might need—litter, cat food, cat beds and blankets (especially this time of year), cat trees and so forth.
- Create more awareness by writing about the shelter and the work they do—even on your facebook page or as a letter-to-the-editor.
- Give in the memory of an animal lover who has passed.
- Shop at the organization’s gift shop.
- Volunteer to help socialize frightened cats and dogs.
- Volunteer using your expertise—pet massage or first aid for pets, for example. Demonstrate how to make healthy pet food or how to groom a cat. A friend of mine is a professional photographer. She volunteers her expertise to help promote some of the homeless cats and dogs. Another friend video-tapes the pets to demonstrate their personality and asks local merchants to show the videos in their shop window.
Here are a couple of sites with some additional ideas: https://www.petfinder.com/helping-pets/information-on-helping-pets/unusual-donations-for-shelters-rescue-groups/ http://www.animalsheltertips.com/fundraising_events.html
Ever hear of Cheerful Giving? Find out what animal groups are out there and what sort of help they need. https://www.cheerfulgiving.com/category/animals?gclid=CJ7Iyd23j9ECFZC3wAodtOAEeg