15 Creative Ways to Help Animal Shelters

Do you love animals but just don’t have enough room for more pets? Share your love with rescue animals in need by choosing to help animal shelters close to your home.

15 Ways to Help Animal Shelters You Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask

Many animals are filled with suffering and despair. Whether they were victims of cruelty and neglect, were abandoned, or whether they spent their time trying to survive on the streets—they are longing for loving homes and new beginnings in rescues and shelters all over the world. You can make a difference, helping them. When it comes to saving animal lives, many people find that the only way is to volunteer help at a local animal shelter; while this could be a great value, there are many other ways you in how to assist and help make a difference in the lives of many animals.

We have listed 15 creative ways to support and help animal shelters.

1. Transporting animals.

Animals, of course, don’t know how to drive, so you need someone to take them to places. And sometimes the trip can be quite long. You can volunteer to transport pets to their temporary or permanent homes. It can last about two hours or be an 8-hour journey. In cities where the main means of transport are the bus and train, this can be very helpful and be the difference that may mean a potential life saving for the animal.

 

2. Dust off your sewing machine

If you can sew or crochet, great! Follow these video tutorials that explain to you how to make a pet sweater or a pet bed using an old sweatshirt. Our suggestion would be for you to visit the shelter near your home and see what they need most.

3. Use your Camera

Whether you are an amateur or even a professional photographer, shelters can greatly benefit from your talent. If you feel called to help, grab a camera, some accessories, and take the dog out of the kennel, to give them a happy portrait. You can also give photography workshops to other volunteers. Got an old camera, in good condition, but no longer using it? How about donating it to some shelter, they need to make the best for the animals at their care?

 

4. Do you like to write? Create New Pet Bios

We all have a bit of a storyteller in us. It is no secret that human beings love to hear and tell stories, and this might be a way to touch someone ‘s heart and help a homeless, abandoned, or abused animal. The truth is that there are never fosters enough, and the ability to write appealing profiles for the animals is a valuable skill, just like gold.

 

5. Spring Cleaning

Shelters always need cleaning materials. Aside from the disposable cleaning materials, consider donating towels and sheets you no longer use. The same goes for collars, bathtubs, brushes, and other unused objects you can find in your home, that can be used to help out in a shelter.

 

6. Throw a party!

Have you considered turning your kid’s party or your dinner party into a good cause? How about asking guests to bring objects that can help improve the lives of many animals in shelters rather than gifts?

Think about Summertime and a block party in your neighborhood, how lovely it would be to gather people around to celebrate and to help. Another alternative would be a bingo night with family and close friends.

 

7. Use Your Creativity

Lend your designing, your writing, and even programming skills to help an animal shelter or social networking site. Taking care of shelter takes a lot of time, and sometimes paying attention to the websites is in the background, but a must on a world that is virtually connected. Networking has proven to be essential to save animals’ lives.

 

8. Using Social Media Networking for Good

Consider using your social media to promote the good work of shelters, rescue places, and to inspire actions. On Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, share animal posts that are missing or in need of adoption. Many pages share these services very well, and they are great examples of good projects using the help of social networks.

To be proactive is to educate yourself and get the word out via social media, or through one of the many animal-welfare organizations around the world, and by signing petitions, starting your own campaigns, rescuing and fostering animals, organizing cleanups, recycling, volunteering at your local animal shelter, going to eco-tourist destinations or photo safaris. This will help get the word out to the masses, and hopefully, this will bring more awareness and more compassion to animal welfare. ~ Katie Cleary

9. Doing bookkeeping, Organizing, and Accounting

Are you one of those gifted with the ability to work with numbers? Great! If you have mastered the calculator and want to help shelters and Pet rescues with your skill, volunteer, and make sure you are welcome.

 

10. Foster the Dogs or Cats

Do you have availability and a place in your home for a temporary pet shelter? Fostering means the practice of temporarily fostering a dog or/ and cats, being their foster homes, usually intending to raise puppies and kitties to prepare them for adoption, so that they can find a permanent home. This can last a few days, weeks, or months. It’s good to keep that in mind. In some cases, fostering also means meeting the responsibilities of food, cleaning, and vaccination; all of these are important.

11. Offering your Physical Labor as a Donation

If you are one of the people that are skilled in woodworking, and know-how to repair, paint, and build pet furniture, such as dog houses, cat apartments, and cat trees, you will be most welcome in any shelter!

 

12. Donating In-Kind

There are many ways to donate to a shelter or rescue. One of them is what we call donations “in-kind.” It means that instead of donating money, you may prefer to access their wish-list (some rescues have their wish lists posted on Amazon) and find out what are the main needs are. You may be surprised to know that there will be many shelters or rescues closest to your home. Alternatively, many rescue places also have Thrifty stores to help their charitable work with animals. Support them, not only shopping there but also donating useable items to be sold.

 

13. Cash is always Good – Donate Money

If any of the volunteering suggestions we made didn’t wow you, you could always donate money directly to the shelters and rescues. Many of them are probably registered charities with a 501 (c-3) Status and can provide you with a tax receipt. We are happy to inform you that even a little more money always comes in good time for any shelters.

 

14. Advocate and Educate others about Adopting, Spaying, Neutering and Rescuing, not Buying

You can be a person that brings awareness about the plight of millions of animals that die in high kill shelters, through educating and advocating in pro of Spay and neutering campaigns, adopting fairs, against dog fights, cruel dog races, etc. Use your voice for those that can’t use theirs.

Learning about factory farms and their horrendous treatment of animals is what made me become vegetarian in the first place. I also support the education of the public on adopting pets from animal shelters or saving homeless animals off the street in lieu of buying them from pet shops. ~ Laura Mennell

15. Include the animals in your Loving Awareness

Pray for the animals regularly, for those that are lost, that are sick, and those that are suffering and will be put to death. Whether you believe or not, in many religious books, animals are sited as human companions, and they deserve our love and compassion as well. Include them in your group prayers, or personal prayers and meditational practices. If you prefer, join one of the many social media groups specialized in praying for animals. You will find a lot of people like yourself, kindred spirits.

My main message to folks who love animals is that you can do something every day to help them. Even if you have no money or time, per se, you can find ways to contribute on any level: sharing shelter animals on social media, donating old blankets or towels to a local shelter, starting a petition online for an animal cause. ~ Alison Eastwood

 

To find and help an animal shelter near you, CLICK HERE!

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