Animal Welfare Professionals

 View Only

  • 1.  Can storytelling and community literacy partnerships help shelters increase adoption visibility and fundraising?

    Posted 7 days ago
      |   view attached

    Hello everyone,

    I'm Serena Brown, founder of MeMe, JJ & Friends and creator of Adopt a Heart, a rescue storytelling and community engagement initiative.

    My children's stories are inspired by real rescue pets. My Chihuahua, JJ, was adopted from a shelter, and that relationship inspired a partnership rooted in animal welfare storytelling.

    That connection later helped shape Trooper's animated adoption story. Trooper had spent more than six months in one shelter before being transferred to the shelter where I adopted JJ. When I learned his story, I felt compelled to use my storytelling platform to help bring visibility to his adoption journey.

    I'm happy to share that Trooper has since been adopted into his forever home.

    This experience led me to think bigger about how storytelling, family engagement, literacy programming, and community partnerships might help shelters increase adoption visibility, strengthen public connection, and create fundraising opportunities that directly support animal welfare organizations.

    I'd love to learn whether others here have explored storytelling, educational outreach, or community-based engagement as part of shelter support, fundraising, or adoption efforts.


    #CommunityPartnerships*
    #EducationandTraining
    #MarketingandSocialMedia

    ------------------------------
    Serena Brown
    author creator
    MeMe JJ and Friends, LLC
    GA
    https://memejjandfriends.com/community-advocacy/
    ------------------------------

    Attachment(s)

    pdf
    Every rescue has a story worth telling..pdf   20.78 MB 1 version


  • 2.  RE: Can storytelling and community literacy partnerships help shelters increase adoption visibility and fundraising?

    Posted 7 days ago

    Hi Serena,

    Welcome aboard. Storytelling is one of the most underused levers in animal welfare, and it's exactly where I think the field is headed.

    At Animal-Angels Foundation we've been treating real cases as content from day one. Lisa called our Pet Help Desk from a hospital bed about her dog Buddy. Eleven days of follow-up texts later, Buddy was in a crisis foster home and Lisa could heal knowing he was safe. That story now lives on our website, in our grant applications, on our podcast, and on social. The story isn't separate from the work, it IS the work, just told twice.

    We've also built an AI mascot ecosystem (Cotton, our Dog CEO, and a comedic training video series called Keep The Pet) to make prevention content reach renters and pet owners who don't follow traditional animal welfare channels.

    Two specific connections I want to make for you.

    First, Sara Kimball just joined our team this week as our Volunteer Coordinator. She's a fellow children's book author (her book is "Rowen and the Animal Shelter") and runs Ralph's Responders, a kids' program teaching animal care and disaster planning. You two should absolutely be talking. Happy to make a warm intro if you'd like.

    Second, Trooper's animation is the kind of asset more shelters need. Most rescues can write a Facebook post but can't produce media content that travels. If you've built a workflow that scales, that's a contribution to the whole field.

    I'd love to talk. calendly.com/animal-angels.

    Thank you for sharing,



    ------------------------------
    BJ Adkins
    Founder/Director
    Animal-Angels Foundation
    Pinson, AL
    bjadkins@animal-angels.org
    animal-angelsfoundation.org
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Can storytelling and community literacy partnerships help shelters increase adoption visibility and fundraising?

    Posted 7 days ago
    Hi BJ,

    Thank you again for your message-your perspective that storytelling *is* the work really resonated with me. That's exactly how I've been building my **Adopt-a-Heart initiative**.

    What started with Trooper has expanded into a broader ecosystem around rescue pets and storytelling. One of my picture books tells the real adoption story of JJ from a local shelter. Over ten years later, that same shelter became the source of Trooper's story through a partnership, creating a full-circle connection between real adoption and ongoing storytelling.

    Today, that work continues directly with that shelter, and I am now exploring a second partnership through a literacy program called **Paws and Hearts**, which uses these stories to support both reading engagement and emotional understanding.

    Each story is developed across multiple formats-picture books, short stories, and animation-with the goal of creating emotional connection while supporting adoption awareness. Alongside the storytelling, I've been developing SEL concepts that are now being adapted into an app, using these real stories to help children observe, interpret, and respond rather than guess.

    One of the things that stood out to me early was how these stories perform in real environments. On TikTok, where scrolling is the norm, Trooper's story was able to stop the scroll. On Wattpad, his recurring story consistently held top placement on the page. That response reinforced for me that storytelling, when done right, can both engage and scale.

    Your comment about Trooper's animation being an asset for the field really stood out, and I'd value the opportunity to learn more about how you're approaching storytelling within Animal Angels and where you see the greatest needs across shelters.

    I'd also appreciate the introduction to Sara Kimball-that sounds like a meaningful connection.

    I'll take a look at your calendar and schedule a time to connect.

    Best,
    Serena Noreen Brown
    MeMe, JJ and Friends, LLC 

    On Wed, May 13, 2026, 2:14 AM Bj Adkins via Maddie's Pet Forum <Mail@maddiesfund.org> wrote:
    Hi Serena, Welcome aboard. Storytelling is one of the most underused levers in animal welfare, and it's exactly where I think the field is headed...
    Maddie's Pet Forum

    Animal Welfare Professionals

    Post New Discussion Post New Discussion via Email
    Manage Profile
    Re: Can storytelling and community literacy partnerships help shelters increase adoption visibility and fundraising?
    Reply to Discussion Reply to Discussion via Email Reply Privately to Author Reply Privately to Author via Email
    May 12, 2026 11:12 PM
    Bj Adkins

    Hi Serena,

    Welcome aboard. Storytelling is one of the most underused levers in animal welfare, and it's exactly where I think the field is headed.

    At Animal-Angels Foundation we've been treating real cases as content from day one. Lisa called our Pet Help Desk from a hospital bed about her dog Buddy. Eleven days of follow-up texts later, Buddy was in a crisis foster home and Lisa could heal knowing he was safe. That story now lives on our website, in our grant applications, on our podcast, and on social. The story isn't separate from the work, it IS the work, just told twice.

    We've also built an AI mascot ecosystem (Cotton, our Dog CEO, and a comedic training video series called Keep The Pet) to make prevention content reach renters and pet owners who don't follow traditional animal welfare channels.

    Two specific connections I want to make for you.

    First, Sara Kimball just joined our team this week as our Volunteer Coordinator. She's a fellow children's book author (her book is "Rowen and the Animal Shelter") and runs Ralph's Responders, a kids' program teaching animal care and disaster planning. You two should absolutely be talking. Happy to make a warm intro if you'd like.

    Second, Trooper's animation is the kind of asset more shelters need. Most rescues can write a Facebook post but can't produce media content that travels. If you've built a workflow that scales, that's a contribution to the whole field.

    I'd love to talk. calendly.com/animal-angels.

    Thank you for sharing,



    ------------------------------
    BJ Adkins
    Founder/Director
    Animal-Angels Foundation
    Pinson, AL
    bjadkins@animal-angels.org
    animal-angelsfoundation.org
    ------------------------------
      Reply to Discussion   Reply to Discussion via Email   Reply Privately to Author   Reply Privately to Author via Email   View Thread   Like   Forward   Flag as Inappropriate  

    Original Message



     
    You are receiving this message because you followed the 'Can storytelling and community literacy partnerships help shelters increase adoption visibility and fundraising?' message thread. To unsubscribe from this message thread, go to Unsubscribe.

    Update your email preferences to choose the types of email you receive

    Unsubscribe from all participation emails



    Original Message:
    Sent: 5/13/2026 2:12:00 AM
    From: Bj Adkins
    Subject: RE: Can storytelling and community literacy partnerships help shelters increase adoption visibility and fundraising?

    Hi Serena,

    Welcome aboard. Storytelling is one of the most underused levers in animal welfare, and it's exactly where I think the field is headed.

    At Animal-Angels Foundation we've been treating real cases as content from day one. Lisa called our Pet Help Desk from a hospital bed about her dog Buddy. Eleven days of follow-up texts later, Buddy was in a crisis foster home and Lisa could heal knowing he was safe. That story now lives on our website, in our grant applications, on our podcast, and on social. The story isn't separate from the work, it IS the work, just told twice.

    We've also built an AI mascot ecosystem (Cotton, our Dog CEO, and a comedic training video series called Keep The Pet) to make prevention content reach renters and pet owners who don't follow traditional animal welfare channels.

    Two specific connections I want to make for you.

    First, Sara Kimball just joined our team this week as our Volunteer Coordinator. She's a fellow children's book author (her book is "Rowen and the Animal Shelter") and runs Ralph's Responders, a kids' program teaching animal care and disaster planning. You two should absolutely be talking. Happy to make a warm intro if you'd like.

    Second, Trooper's animation is the kind of asset more shelters need. Most rescues can write a Facebook post but can't produce media content that travels. If you've built a workflow that scales, that's a contribution to the whole field.

    I'd love to talk. calendly.com/animal-angels.

    Thank you for sharing,



    ------------------------------
    BJ Adkins
    Founder/Director
    Animal-Angels Foundation
    Pinson, AL
    bjadkins@animal-angels.org
    animal-angelsfoundation.org
    ------------------------------


Related Content