Animal Shelters

We have all heard what a difficult time food banks and other charities are having, with demand for help skyrocketing but donations down. This is true of animal shelters as well. With people losing their jobs and/or homes, or taking pay cuts, many people have had to give up their precious pets. Many shelters are struggling, trying to care for more animals with fewer resources.

I have a houseful of animal-lovers (probably why we ended up with 4 pets) and we decided to gather some things to take to our local humane society. We took dry kitten food, canned cat food, cat litter, and canned dog food (we don't even have a dog but we couldn't leave them out!!). Of course the kids visited with the kitties and tried to talk me into adopting them all!! It was hard to walk out of there WITHOUT one of the cute little kittens.

While we were there, we found out that they have donation bins---if they receive something they can't use, they put it in the bin for people in need to take for their own pets.

I would like to make an appeal to anyone reading this to please consider donating pet food or other items to your local pet shelter. Your local shelter may have a donation bin too so you can be sure all the items will be put to good use. And please believe, the shelters are having just as difficult a time in this economy as the rest of us!! They perform such a needed service in caring for homeless animals and trying to find them homes.

With the poor economy and all the job losses this year, there will probably be more kids than ever whose parents are unable to afford or have a hard time affording school supplies. If you have more than one kid in school you probably know that the list can get extensive and the cost pretty high. So, this year, when you're out shopping the good deals for supplies, would you consider buying extra? Then, when school starts, give the extras to your child's classroom teacher and ask her/him to give them to kids who don't have any. If no-one in her class needs any, I'm sure she can find another teacher who has a child who does.

Sometimes teachers or the school counselors know of children who need clothes but whose parents can't afford them. Before you donate your children's outgrown clothes to a thrift shop, it wouldn't hurt to contact the school and ask if they know of anyone who could use the clothes.

Box Tops for Education and Campbell's Labels

Do you have children in school? Do you know someone with children in school? Or, do you live in a neighborhood with a school? The answer to one of those questions is no doubt yes. I want to encourage you to start looking for and saving the Box Tops for Education and the Campbell's Labels for Education on the products you buy. They are on all kinds of different products, and your school earns money/points for each one. This can really help them in a time of failed school levies and loss of revenue due to the challenging economy. Each box top is worth 10-cents and each label either 1 or 5 points. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it really adds up. If every family in a school clipped just one box top a month, for example, imagine how much that would be over the course of the school year? Now imagine if everyone clipped one a week, or even two? It's an easy way to help out your child's school without it costing you anything extra, because they're on the products you probably already buy. I have a big bag of box tops and one of Campbell's labels that I am collecting over the summer. I want to challenge anyone who is reading this to do the same!