7 Ways to Paw it Forward this Holiday Season!

by Nancy E. Hassel, ThisFurryLife.com

During the holidays many of us are looking for different ways to give back and with so many organizations, pets and people that could use help, it can be overwhelming decision on who to give to.  Although, It doesn’t have to be.  There are so many ways to paw-it-forward on every level, get your kids involved, family, friends and business.

Here is a simple list to help inspire you and of course we would love to hear your ideas as well, please comment on the bottom of what you’re doing!

  • Do a donation drive at your business for toys for children in need, pet food/supplies.  Ask your local animal shelter and favorite animal rescue what their needs are.  Take it a step further and contact the pet companies to see if you can get donations sent to them.
  • Host a fundraising event for your favorite charitable organization.
  • Have your kids and their friends make stockings for the dogs in the local shelter, and stuff them with dog toys and treats.  Bring your kids to the shelter to donate the stockings.  Some shelters do this, but this could be a fun and different way to get your kids involved in a creative way.
  • Have a dog treat baking party and get your baking friends together to bake, package and distribute dog treats to local animal shelters.  You can even host a dog treat bake sale and give the proceeds to a local animal rescue.  (I did this a couple of years ago and ended up meeting my dog Cody that I ended up adopting!)

  • Wildlife – there are many wildlife rehab centers that also need supplies.  Contact them, or look on their websites to see if they have a ‘wish list’ and put together a donation drive.  Same goes for farm sanctuaries.
  • Help promote your favorite organizations. This could be as simple as sharing information about them on your social media platforms, to writing about them, offering to pay for advertising and so forth.
  • Learn about volunteer opportunities.  Most organizations are always looking for volunteers, but if you cannot, let’s say walk dogs at a shelter or physically do heavy lifting, perhaps you can help them with their event planning, website work, grant writing.  What are you an expert in that can help?

While we think of giving during the holidays, non-profits need help all year long think of ways you can continue to help throughout the year.  Ask about volunteering, a donation match program at your company, organize and education program about the organization within schools, the ideas and possibilities to help are endless.  Wishing you a wonderful holiday season of joy, cheer and giving back!

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