TULSA, Okla. — We want to tell you about a great opportunity to help the community.
Next Wednesday, which is 2/22/22, we will celebrate with a special 2 Cares for the Community Day. Our staff will be volunteering at different organizations and we want you to do the same.
But where can you volunteer? This week we are showcasing different organizations.
Oklahoma Alliance for Animals (OAA) is a small nonprofit that not only helps animals in Northeast Oklahoma but also owners.
It’s not your traditional animal nonprofit but one that has been making a unique impact for 20 years.
“We are an animal welfare and advocacy organization, so we are not a rescue in a traditional sense," Erin Shackelford, OAA executive director, said. "We have a lot of programs that focus on ending pet overpopulation, preventing pet homelessness and a lot of pet retention type programs.”
Their programs offer what they call wrap-around services for pet owners in need of assistance.
Some programs include dog walking, a pet food pantry and unchained, which Shackelford says is one of their biggest programs.
“The Unchained Oklahoma program works with pet owners that have chained dogs, trying to figure out maybe why the dog is chained, what we can do to possibly reintegrate the dog into the family, and if that’s not possible and the dog has to be outside, providing comfort items,” Shackelford said.
There are a variety of ways you can donate your time to help them.
“There are opportunities to bag food and straw and to make ID tags,” Shaunda Richardson said.
Shaunda has been volunteering with OAA for 6 years.
She says it has not only brought joy to her but also, “the fact that it’s a community. It’s a group of friends. It’s an amazing like the most amazing people I have met in my life.”
And any help counts.
“It doesn’t have to be a full-time job for you and so any little bit of time you can give helps," Richardson said. "If you want to feel better and happy and more encouraged about the state of the world the only way to do that is to work on improving it.”
“Volunteers are so critical to our success because they are so critical to achieving our mission,” said Shackelford.
Not to mention all the animal love one can get.
If you want to get involved, fill out a volunteer application, let them know how you’d like to help and they will contact you to place you where you fit best.
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