Adoptable Artists Fundraiser

Kaila wanted to do something to help shelter animals. However, she worked on her civic engagement project in the spring of 2021, when Covid rates were very high and before vaccines became available and many shelters were not even allowing volunteers to come in. She came up with a really creative idea, as you can see in this super cute video!

Although she didn’t personally know anyone who worked in an animal shelter, she didn’t hesitate to contact them directly and pitch her idea.

She wrote “This activity was organized with two main goals in mind: raising money for Rogue Valley Humane Society (RVHS) and promoting adoptable pets at the shelter. The first step in getting this setup was to contact the shelter. RVHS’s head volunteer coordinator responded quickly to my message on Facebook and we exchanged numbers to further discuss my idea for the fundraiser. This project was extremely fun and successful. I got to spend the day with the sweetest animals, and through the project we were able to raise $500 and one of the dogs (Mickey) was adopted!”

Kaila has the following tips for future students:

• Organizing an activity with an animal shelter can be very fun and fulfilling.
• It’s also pretty simple! Just put peanut butter on a plastic bag, put paint on the canvas, and put the canvas in the bag to let the dog lick off the peanut butter to create the art.
• Make sure to get a hold of the shelter you want to work with early, because they are often busy. By getting a hold of them early it gives you an opportunity to reach out to another shelter if the firsts says they aren’t interested.
• Something I hadn’t thought about until I got to the shelter was that some animals have restricted diets due to
  allergies, so it would be a good idea to ask about that in case you need to bring some different supplies.
• The one thing I would strongly encourage, and wish I had done in my project, is to get in contact with news sources in the town where the shelter is located.
• Getting local news involved allows you to reach a broader audience, as not everyone looking to adopt an animal or support a shelter will be on the social media platforms you’re promoting on.