This perspective is helpful. I have been digesting it for a few days. I see how it can work, and how the pipeline can be built. We are 2 years into building our community relationships. Doing door to door canvassing is a possibility for us in the next couple of years, as we build our volunteer base. I wonder if it is a good idea to try to partner with other organizations as we do it.
My personal experience is that I love going to publicly offered education seminars. I did a bunch at the SF SPCA, which led me to become a dog trainer professionally. Also, I have gone to a lot of Master Gardener seminars, which have helped me to improve my gardening. On the other hand, I personally am highly offended when a solicitor knocks on my door. It feels like telemarketing but more aggressive. It's potentially dangerous, and it interrupts my day. I don't get to choose when to interact. They just show-up! People sometimes come to my door asking for money. Ugh! Again, this is my personal reaction, though I do notice that I'm not alone. Many people have "no solicitation" on their doors. So, it seems that this approach can alienate too! I wonder what profile of person wants an in-home visit versus someone who prefers a group seminar. I am very interested in outreach, and I'll be looking at the Pets of Life platform for guidance going forward.
Due to the popularity of solicitation, I can see how many love it when they get visitors to their home. For many, I can see how canvassing is more accessible than a group seminar. Thank you so much for this!
Thanks for this insight!
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Elizabeth Ashley
Dog Trainer
Wag Workshops
Southern Maryland
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-20-2023 08:06 AM
From: Maria Saucedo
Subject: Educating our communities
Classes to educate people can come across the wrong way. It implies that they are uneducated and don't know how to care for pets. I mean, I would feel insulted if somebody came up to me and said I needed to take a class to be educated about caring for my dog! Instead of approaching people in a way that assumes they are uneducated and makes it look like we know better, we simply meet people where they are and have conversations, and we work with people who know their own community. And literally meet people where they are: we do door to door outreach and try to make contact and maintain contact with people over time. Over the last ten years, we've seen that people don't need to educated, they simply need resources!
Most people who have unaltered animals can't access or afford spay/neuter, for example. We can "educate" them all day long how important it is, but if they don't have the cash, a ride, and the free time, and all of those on the same day, they can't get it done. Even if they know there's an ordinance about dogs running free but they can't afford to build a fence, or can't build it because they live in a rental, it doesn't matter if they are aware of the law or not. Most people in underserved neighborhoods aren't aware of their local animal services, have had bad experiences with them, or have never used them or interacted with them, so it's unlikely you'd reach them with classes when they are already outside the animal welfare bubble.
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Maria Saucedo
GIS Analyst
Pets for Life at HSUS
Baltimore, MD
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-20-2023 06:34 AM
From: Julie Totten
Subject: Educating our communities
We are reaching out to libraries to give a talk on Adopting, Bonding, and Caring for a Cat. Many want us to bring a cat, and we only have one person with a therapy cat. I think it is a good way to educate people and encourage people to adopt.
Julie Totten
Cat Companions
catcompanions.org
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Julie Totten
Executive Director
Cat Companions