Making a difference for the animals in your community can be as simple as donating food to an animal shelter, or
as involved as planning, organizing and hosting a fundraiser for an animal welfare organization in your area.
Below is a list of ideas for making a difference in your community.

1. Volunteer at your local animal shelter or rescue organization! Get started by contacting a volunteer coordinator
at the shelter of your choice, and then attend an orientation to determine how you'd like to help out at the shelter. You
could volunteer to walk dogs, socialize with cats and other small animals, and groom dogs and cats. You may also be
able to offer assistance to staff by helping with cleaning, administrative work, marketing, fundraising, and more. If you
have special skills, such as knowledge of web site design, or a background in dog training or animal massage
therapy, find out if these skills can be put to use at your animal shelter.

2. Organize a pet food/supply/fund drive in your area and deliver collected donations to a small shelter in need. Create fliers,
posters, and perhaps an ad on Craigslist (or similar sites) to advertise the food drive. Establish a collection site along with
a date for drop-offs, and recruit a friend with a large vehicle to help transport the donated food/supplies to the shelter of your
choice. Make it an annual event, or team up with an organization such as Wishbones For Pets.

3. Look out for the animals in your neighborhood. If a pet guardian in your neighborhood has fallen on hard times and is
having difficulty feeding his/her pet, or providing needed veterinary care, help out if you're able. If you find a stray pet, do what
you can to find the guardian and house the pet temporarily if you can- check for tags and have the pet scanned for a microchip.
Post plenty of "Found" signs in highly visible areas. If you must, take the pet to a local animal shelter and be sure to mention
the location of the dog/cat on the signs you post. Tell all pet guardians you know about the importance of microchipping and
placing current tags on their pets.

4. Volunteer with a feral/stray cat welfare organization. Most cities have feral cat overpopulation issues, and some are
fortunate enough to have organizations that humanely deal with these issues by providing spay/neuter services. You can
volunteer to do TNR (trap/neuter/return) work, become a colony caretaker, build outdoor shelters and feeding stations,
educate the public about feral cats, and much more! If you're passionate about making a difference for feral/stray cats in
your area and there is not an existing organization, look into what it would take to start one!

Please check back soon for more ideas!