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Want To Help Homeless Animals? Helping homeless animals is a rewarding and valuable experience. The Gloucester-Mathews Humane Society believes that there is no age limit when it comes to making a difference in the lives of animals. You can support and help the animals at our shelter and those in the community in several different ways.   Hold a fundraiser to benefit shelter Animals - Hold a bake sale, car wash, yard sale, or other fundraiser to benefit homeless animals. Be creative and see what your group can do! Collect money for shelter animals- A fun way to do this is to make two containers and title one “Cats Rule” and the other “Dogs Drool”. Make sure you include information about what you are raising money for then ask local businesses and organizations if they will help by allowing you to place your containers there. When you are done collecting, count the money and see who won; cats or dogs. Organize a supply drive to collect the things we need most - Our shelter is always in need of certain supplies. View our wish list to see what we currently need. Make homemade toys for our animals- All toys should be free and clear of all small objects. We recommend toys be made out of fleece since it does not fray like other fabrics. If you have questions about what materials are safe, please call our humane educator at 693-5520 ext.309. Make blankets to keep cats cozy Cut out a piece of double-sided fleece that is 24-36 inches square (exact size is not important). If you want, you can cut fringes on the sides. For a thicker blanket, stack two squares of fleece and sew the edges or tie the fringes together. Make toys to entertain cats Decorate empty plastic eggs or ping pong balls with non-toxic permanent makers. These simple rolling toys are popular entertainment for shelter cats! Make chew toys for rabbits and guinea pigs- Stuff empty toilet paper tubes with Timothy hay (available at pet stores). Our rabbits and guinea pigs enjoy these tasty chewing treats. Recycle things in your home to help the animals! Collect shredded office paper, which is used to make puppy and small animal cages more comfortable. (Please note that we can’t use cross-cut shredded paper, only paper shredded in longer strips.) Save empty cardboard tubes from toilet paper and paper towels. We can use those in a variety of ways. Bring us your old blankets and towels. We can put them to use for cat beds, grooming and cleaning up after shelter animals. Save your spare change- Decorate a container and put your spare change in it. When you have filled it up, donate the money to help homeless animals. Volunteer to help an elderly or sick person- You can feed, walk or bathe their dog, or change kitty litter. Your help may allow them to keep their pet rather than have to find the pet a new home. Spread the word - If you know somebody who wants a pet, tell them about adopting from Gloucester-Mathews Humane Society. Volunteer –To become a GMHS volunteer you must be 14 years of age or older. If you are under the age of 14, you can still volunteer but you have to have a parent or guardian with you at all times. To download a volunteer application, click here . Join Cliff’s Club- Having a birthday party? Instead of your guests bringing you gifts ask them to bring items from the GMHS wish list. The generous birthday girl or boy will receive a free t-shirt and their picture in the local paper. This club is for children 13 years old and younger.   Take your cause to school- Make your next report or presentation for your class about the pet overpopulation problem, responsible pet care, spaying/neutering, or animal abuse. Volunteer to help younger students with their reading. Help them read stories about people helping animals.  Start an animal club at your school! Contact amysteele.gmhs@yahoo.com for further information. Make a bulletin board about overpopulation, spay/neuter, adoption, or other pet care topic. Tell your teacher about KIND News, a classroom newsletter for kids kindergarten through 5th grade, http://www.kindnews.org/ Ask your librarian to select books about animals to be displayed during Be Kind to Animals Week. It’s always the first full week in May. Arrange for our humane educator to come to your school. Ask a school representative if you can organize a coin drive.   Be Creative and Have Fun!

Kind Kids In Action Members of Team Kid, a youth group from the Gwynn’s Island Baptist Church, collected $358 dollars for the animals of the GMHS. These kind children decorated donation jars and placed them in various locations throughout the community. After a tour of the GMHS, the children emptied their jars and counted the money for a grand total. Their project was a HUGE success! Thank you for your kindess and generosity.   The Torch Club of the Gloucester Boys and Girls Club donated $125 to the organization to purchase a brick to help fund the new shelter costs.  The $125 was raised through a cartridge recycling program that the club began in 2009. Pictured here are, front row from left, Daniel Owens, Jasmin Scott, Joseph Evans, Shale Roden; back row, Amy Steele (GMHS), Sessoms and Rebecca Chandler. Steven Haley is not pictured. Thank you for your kind contribution!   Girl Scout Brownie Troop 1427 recently sponsored an evening of "Spread the Biscuits" and "Operation Happy Socks" to benefit the Gloucester-Mathews Humane Society. Members of Daisy Troop 4602 and Cadette Troop 1143 also participated in baking homemade dog biscuits and stuffing cat toys. Pictured, front from left, Kayleigh Brown, Emma Ziegenfus, Emma Cirillo, Alyssa O'Beirne; second row, Linnea Hornung, Cara O'Beirne, Madison Dent, Nicole Shannon, Isabella Donoflio-Shier; third row, McKenzie Hasty, Katie McSweeney, Caroline Perkins.   The SCA of T.C. Walker Elementary spent an afternoon learning how to make toys for pets out of recycled materials. Patty, a dog from GMHS, attended the event to test the products and gave them a “paws up”.   Elly Olson of Gloucester County wanted to give the animals of GMHS something special this holiday season. She made over 20 cozy fleece blankets and toys for the animals . Elly hand delivered the blankets and toys and was able to see first hand how much the animals enjoyed her generousity. Thank you Elly!   Brownie, Jr. Brownie and Daisy Troop 1039 of Mathews County raised money for the GMHS through their annual Fall Fundraiser. The animals and staff of the GMHS send out a big "Thank You" to this wonderful group of young girls.   The boy scouts of Pack 1 collected items from the GMHS wish list as part of a community service project. The animals and staff of the GMHS will truly benefit from their generosity.     The Peasley Field Hockey team raised money for the GMHS  by asking others to sponsor their Goals and Saves.  The money raised was used to purchase a brick in honor of their team. Thank You Peasley Field Hockey Team