Inspire Us - Show Us How You Give Back!

[PintoBean]

Let's start a thread where we shamelessly brag (and inspire others) with how we give back to our community, heck the universe! Let good karma abound!
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I love kitties so I started volunteering for a monthly spay neuter of feral Cat clinics this past year. I always have the job of taking the cleaned traps and cages and carrying them to the other side of the center to receive the cats coming out of surgery.

Lately, I go into my local pet food store on a weekly basis and ask them to point out the Cat food that is deeply discounted due to the sell by date. I buy a bag (or a few cans) and have the associate place it in their donation bin.

 

[Austina]

We have a guide dog for the blind programme here where you sponsor a pup through its training until it’s ready to go to a blind person. We’re on our eighth of ninth dog now. We get ‘pupdates’ throughout its training, right up till it’s placed with an owner.

We also sponsor children in deprived countries so they can get an education and have a better life. Currently the church is working in the Phillipines with children whose parents are dump scavengers

 

[TooPatient]

What an awesome thread! It is so easy to get discouraged by the world some days. Seeing how people give back is so cool.

I have been doing a lot with animal rescue lately. It started as just matching dogs/cats in need with rescues or adopters. Then I got started donating to medical care for animals in need to help rescues be able to afford to take them. I had 8 dogs in my name at one point! All off to forever homes! (Well, plus the guy who joined our family!)

My class project was a great opportunity too. My group designed and built a database for a rescue group so she can find the supplies she needs including fosters and be able to save more animals. We are planning to host the volunteer website and add databases for additional rescue groups to help them too.

I've also been trying to send supplies to shelters with a focus on building up lasting changes (such as additional kennel space so they have higher capacity) and spreading the word to friends I know who also want to help. This week, Amazon delivered 3 new kitty condos and two big outdoor heaters to a shelter in Louisiana that had no way to keep the outdoor dog kennels heated through winter and was looking at euthanizing several families of cats as they were out of kennels for cats.

 

[Missy]

Nice thread Pinto.

We trap, neuter and release feral kitties and we feed all the feral cats around our beach neighborhood all year long. We go to the house at least once a week to fill the 39 lbs of food in the auto feeders at least once a week even though we don't live there much of the year. We go back for the ferals.


My dh built the feral feeding station and also built a few cat shelters on our property so the cats can be safe in the cold and inclement weather that we often experience in the Northeast.

It is often a heartbreaking task doing TNR and looking after the feral kitties as best as we can....they are truly feral and you cannot approach them or even look at them as if you make eye contact they will run away with lightning speed...but it is a labor of love nonetheless. We can never sell the beach house now because we couldn't leave our ferals without. The woman who helps us says we have the best cared for ferals in the world. LOL I doubt that and it never feels like we can do enough but I take comfort in that we can bring them some comfort and hopefully prevent some misery in their short rough and challenging lives.

My dh built the feral feeding station and he made 2 openings one for escape as the ferals need to feel safe and he covered the feeding station in plexiglass for protection from the wind. We had to trial and error the size of the openings because the raccoons were eating all the food inside and making a mess. So after a bit of trial and error the openings fit all the cats and keep out most of the raccoons but allow the baby raccoons to eat and I am OK with that. I would feed everyone if I could but the raccoons eat huge amounts and make the station a huge mess throwing everything that isn't bolted down. We had to make a special emergency trip there after a raccoon got in and threw the feeders down. My dh attached the feeders to a rope and clipped it the sides and that hasn't happened again. Plus it's a long and costly round trip back and forth during the colder months when we don't stay for the weekend and we already do it every week to fill the feeders and if we fed all the raccoons we would have to be there every day filling the food. And the time and cost adds up. And lastly our neighbors would probably kill us if we fed all the wild animals so for now feral cats, baby raccoons and some possums will have to be sufficient.

Some photos.






My dh built a few cat shelters with 2 levels and we also bought a couple cat shelters and we have them all over our property for the ferals to find shelter and safety during the bad weather.



They are filled with straw and we replace the straw often to make sure it stays dry and warm.



We also give money throughout the year to animal rescue organizations and we try to help in any way we can. I wish we could save all the homeless animals and give them shelter and love and a safe warm home. The problem is overwhelming and I dream of a world where all the animals are safe and loved and true "no kill" shelters are reality.

Each year, approximately 2.7 million dogs and cats are killed every year because shelters are too full and there aren't enough adoptive homes.

 

[Tekate]

I don't do anything worthwhile Pinto but I do give to the https://arlgp.org/ monthly, I adopted a 10 yr old dog from a Georgia kill facility and besides my sons she is my life. I'm getting on to 65 in 2 weeks and my volunteering days are dwindling due to my arthritis but I try to give financially and I am lucky that I can. (I also give to PBS in Portland and PP monthly) Happy holiday girl and I wish for you a wonderful and peaceful '18.. Kate

 

[Dee*Jay]

I mentor a "Little" through Big Brothers / Big Sisters. My first Little graduated from high school in May and went off to college this fall and now I'm on to my second Little.

 

[CJ2008]

I don't do nearly enough to inspire anyone.

Animals are my thing.

All 3 cats I've owned (1 passed away, so have 2 now) have been cats we've rescued off the streets.

Plus the beautiful little "feral" girl that I'm socializing and trying to find her a home.

And little stories like that.

Cats or dogs or other animals I've helped in some way. DH too.

Donations to shelters or people that help animals.

Whenever I have an opening, educating people about cats - so many myths out there (cats are not affectionate, cats are not trainable, cats are this or that).

 

[PintoBean]

I don't do anything worthwhile Pinto but I do give to the https://arlgp.org/ monthly, I adopted a 10 yr old dog from a Georgia kill facility and besides my sons she is my life. I'm getting on to 65 in 2 weeks and my volunteering days are dwindling due to my arthritis but I try to give financially and I am lucky that I can. (I also give to PBS in Portland and PP monthly) Happy holiday girl and I wish for you a wonderful and peaceful '18.. Kate

You are too modest Kate! These are wonderful things that you do!

 

[RosieR]

For the past 2 years I have been volunteering at a local organisation which provides hot meals for the homeless in my city. They also provide sleeping bags, hostal advice, benifits advice and groceries to those on low incomes and struggle to feed their families.

 

[cflutist]

Hubby and I are both retired and give back by volunteering at the local police department. We put in more than 1000 hours per year. Our main job is Crime Analysis (we set up a database for them) to track crime patterns and generate heat maps.

We also work the booth during our summer concert series and farmers market in our central park.

We are also CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) volunteers for our city and team captains for our neighborhood. We participate in county wide CERT drills to prepare for disaster response. Hubby was recently called out to help residents when a mudslide and erosion cut off road access to some of our citizens.

Seems that we are more busy volunteering during our retirement than we expected but it does feel good to give back to the community.

 

[AprilBaby]

Once a month on a Friday afternoon my office does a free dental clinic for homeless people and kids 18-25 who have been kicked out by their parents. Anything they need free. Anything. I have been to Haiti and San Pedro Sula , Honduras for week long dental missions. This year we did free Veterans day clinic. Any veteran could come in for free services. We will be doing this every year for Veterans Day.