If you’re here, you’re probably an animal lover!
Animals all over the world need your support. All types of contributions are valuable, whether that’s through your financial help, through other non-monetary donations, or volunteer work, you can help support animals.
Keep reading to learn about all of the ways that you can help support animal shelters.
Don`t eat animals
All animals are equal. Cows and pigs are no different from cats and dogs. All of these animals feel pain, create emotional connections, and have friends and family.
The best way to help animals is to not eat them! You can learn more about being an animal activist in this article.
Monetary Donations
One of the best ways that you can help to support animals is through financial donations. As much as animals need toys and love, medical attention is just as valuable. Often, animal shelters don’t get enough financial support to be able to pay for all of these bills.
Here are a variety of ways that you can donate money to help animal shelters:
- General Donations: General donations are any monetary donation that goes towards all of our animals’ needs. This includes shelter, food, general repairs, medical costs, etc. You can donate any amount. As little as $5 per month feeds a horse for 3 days and as much as $100 per month fixes fences and helps with other much-needed repairs. This amount of $100 comes out to only $3.30 per day, less than a coffee from a big chain store!
- Sponsor an Animal: Another fantastic way to help is to sponsor a specific animal. Many animal shelters, such as Juliana’s Animal Sanctuary will have information on the history of each animal that they currently foster. Sponsoring an animal means that your donation goes towards helping that specific animal to be fed, sheltered, and cared for. This is a great solution if you can’t commit to adopting an animal, but you still want to help.
- Adoption: Although animal adoption isn’t a direct monetary donation to an animal shelter, adopting one of the shelter’s animals means that a shelter can focus their financial efforts on other animals that need rescuing or have not yet found a forever home.
- Become a Member: Many animal shelters and animal rights organizations have membership options that come with benefits. For example, Juliana’s Animal Sanctuary has an annual membership that costs $200 per year. Not only will you be supporting the vegan sanctuary, but you’ll also receive vegan recipes, a t-shirt, a tote bag, discounts, and more!
- Raise Funds: If you want to donate but you can’t dip into your paycheck, we get it! Consider doing a fundraiser from which the proceeds go towards an animal shelter. People are generally more than happy to buy vegan brownies or cakes when they see a poster of the cows, puppies, cats, chickens and other animals that they’re helping. You can also start an online fundraiser and ask for donations on holidays or your birthday in place of gifts.
Non-Monetary Donations
Although monetary donations are one of the best ways that you can help animal shelters, there are other needs as well.
We’ve put together a list of things that you might have lying around at home that animal shelters will usually be happy to accept!
- Toys: As much as excellent care is provided by shelters, there are often so many animals that need care that volunteers and workers don’t have time to play with the animals.
- Pet food and treats: Animals, just like people, like to eat! The bigger the animal the more they need, so as much extra food you have will gladly be taken. Shelters need everything from chicken feed and cat food to grain for cows and horses.
- Collars and leashes: Some animals require walks, so if you have extra collars and leashes that you don’t need, these are always useful.
- Cleaning supplies: Running an animal shelter isn’t the cleanest job. We (humans and animals) all make messes and cleaning supplies can be quite pricey. Even a half bottle of bleach you no longer need can be of great use to an animal shelter.
- Pet beds: Just like people, animals like a familiar and cozy space to sleep in.
- Skilled laborers: See the volunteer section below
- Newspaper: These are used to line sleeping crates and transport crates. As necessary as they might seem to you, shelters can make good use out of them!
- Flea and tick treatment: Has your cat or dog at home had fleas? If you have extra flea and tick treatment that you no longer need, animal shelters will gladly take it!
- Food and water bowls: Animals need food and water and of course they need something to drink it out of.
Volunteer Work
If you love animals and are willing to help clean, feed, and love them, shelters can use your help! However, volunteering at animal shelters to help with animal care is a fairly common occurrence, so think about what other special skills you might have.
Do you work in construction? Your local animal shelter might need help repairing enclosures. Or perhaps you’re a social media whiz. Helping to promote the shelter and raise awareness is often just as valuable as animal care help!
Most animal shelters list their volunteer positions on their website. You’re likely to find that many will need virtual help as well as in-person assistance.
For example, Juliana’s Animal Sanctuary has several virtual volunteer opportunities. We need social media geniuses, graphic designers, video creators, and grant writers who can all help us grow the sanctuary and save more animals.
Ready to Help?
Now that you know more about what animal shelters need and how you can donate, start looking around! There is likely a shelter near you that needs help, but if you’re looking to use special skills like graphic design, you have the option to look more remotely.
Get in touch if you’re interested in volunteering in person or remotely with our vegan sanctuary.
