Animal Welfare Professionals

Hi everyone!
I am from a small rural town that has limited resources when it comes to any sort of pet "issue". What works best for finding items such as free food (like samples for single animals", help with items such as blankets, crates/kennels, supplies, etc?
I hate asking our small town residents to donate as they are already strapped with their own day to day living expenses. 
I look online and sign up for free samples or puppy packs as I find them, but I can only do so many of those before I run out of emails. :) 

Thanks for any input or suggestions! 

It's definitely harder when your community has fewer resources to share! One thing I keep in mind when asking these folks is to ask for things they already might have and not be using, rather than asking them to buy new items. For example, a FaceBook post or newsletter item asking for donations of crates can be phrased as "Got a crate your puppy outgrew? We can use it! We need to rebuild our crate stockpile for our fosters and adopters" followed by info on where to bring it. A new crate is a big expense, but someone might have one sitting in their garage "just in case" they get another puppy, and decide that they would rather give it to you. In my experience, a lot of folks who are living in these low-resource communities tend to do a lot of reusing, swapping, and sharing these types of durable items, so it can be about becoming part of those exchanges and a location folks think of when they have these items.

For blankets/towels/sheets, do you have any hotels/motels in your community? We have some that will periodically donate stained or damaged bedding and towels. They don't look nice enough to use for guests, but function just fine for dog bedding! This could be a public partnership, where you post public thank-yous and help encourage goodwill towards the hotel, or a quieter one-on-one relationship with a hotel manager who sets aside things that would otherwise be thrown away. 

Hi everyone!
I am from a small rural town that has limited resources when it comes to any sort of pet "issue". What works best for finding items such as free food (like samples for single animals", help with items such as blankets, crates/kennels, supplies, etc?
I hate asking our small town residents to donate as they are already strapped with their own day to day living expenses. 
I look online and sign up for free samples or puppy packs as I find them, but I can only do so many of those before I run out of emails. :) 

Thanks for any input or suggestions! 

It's definitely harder when your community has fewer resources to share! One thing I keep in mind when asking these folks is to ask for things they already might have and not be using, rather than asking them to buy new items. For example, a FaceBook post or newsletter item asking for donations of crates can be phrased as "Got a crate your puppy outgrew? We can use it! We need to rebuild our crate stockpile for our fosters and adopters" followed by info on where to bring it. A new crate is a big expense, but someone might have one sitting in their garage "just in case" they get another puppy, and decide that they would rather give it to you. In my experience, a lot of folks who are living in these low-resource communities tend to do a lot of reusing, swapping, and sharing these types of durable items, so it can be about becoming part of those exchanges and a location folks think of when they have these items.

For blankets/towels/sheets, do you have any hotels/motels in your community? We have some that will periodically donate stained or damaged bedding and towels. They don't look nice enough to use for guests, but function just fine for dog bedding! This could be a public partnership, where you post public thank-yous and help encourage goodwill towards the hotel, or a quieter one-on-one relationship with a hotel manager who sets aside things that would otherwise be thrown away. 

Hi everyone!
I am from a small rural town that has limited resources when it comes to any sort of pet "issue". What works best for finding items such as free food (like samples for single animals", help with items such as blankets, crates/kennels, supplies, etc?
I hate asking our small town residents to donate as they are already strapped with their own day to day living expenses. 
I look online and sign up for free samples or puppy packs as I find them, but I can only do so many of those before I run out of emails. :) 

Thanks for any input or suggestions! 

It's definitely harder when your community has fewer resources to share! One thing I keep in mind when asking these folks is to ask for things they already might have and not be using, rather than asking them to buy new items. For example, a FaceBook post or newsletter item asking for donations of crates can be phrased as "Got a crate your puppy outgrew? We can use it! We need to rebuild our crate stockpile for our fosters and adopters" followed by info on where to bring it. A new crate is a big expense, but someone might have one sitting in their garage "just in case" they get another puppy, and decide that they would rather give it to you. In my experience, a lot of folks who are living in these low-resource communities tend to do a lot of reusing, swapping, and sharing these types of durable items, so it can be about becoming part of those exchanges and a location folks think of when they have these items.

For blankets/towels/sheets, do you have any hotels/motels in your community? We have some that will periodically donate stained or damaged bedding and towels. They don't look nice enough to use for guests, but function just fine for dog bedding! This could be a public partnership, where you post public thank-yous and help encourage goodwill towards the hotel, or a quieter one-on-one relationship with a hotel manager who sets aside things that would otherwise be thrown away. 

Hi everyone!
I am from a small rural town that has limited resources when it comes to any sort of pet "issue". What works best for finding items such as free food (like samples for single animals", help with items such as blankets, crates/kennels, supplies, etc?
I hate asking our small town residents to donate as they are already strapped with their own day to day living expenses. 
I look online and sign up for free samples or puppy packs as I find them, but I can only do so many of those before I run out of emails. :) 

Thanks for any input or suggestions! 

Hi everyone!
I am from a small rural town that has limited resources when it comes to any sort of pet "issue". What works best for finding items such as free food (like samples for single animals", help with items such as blankets, crates/kennels, supplies, etc?
I hate asking our small town residents to donate as they are already strapped with their own day to day living expenses. 
I look online and sign up for free samples or puppy packs as I find them, but I can only do so many of those before I run out of emails. :) 

Thanks for any input or suggestions! 

We let our community know we take open food as long as it's in the original container/bag.  Something your pet refuses to eat? We'll put it to good use! We actually get quite a bit that way and we are a pretty small community.

Hi everyone!
I am from a small rural town that has limited resources when it comes to any sort of pet "issue". What works best for finding items such as free food (like samples for single animals", help with items such as blankets, crates/kennels, supplies, etc?
I hate asking our small town residents to donate as they are already strapped with their own day to day living expenses. 
I look online and sign up for free samples or puppy packs as I find them, but I can only do so many of those before I run out of emails. :) 

Thanks for any input or suggestions! 

We let our community know we take open food as long as it's in the original container/bag.  Something your pet refuses to eat? We'll put it to good use! We actually get quite a bit that way and we are a pretty small community.

Hi everyone!
I am from a small rural town that has limited resources when it comes to any sort of pet "issue". What works best for finding items such as free food (like samples for single animals", help with items such as blankets, crates/kennels, supplies, etc?
I hate asking our small town residents to donate as they are already strapped with their own day to day living expenses. 
I look online and sign up for free samples or puppy packs as I find them, but I can only do so many of those before I run out of emails. :) 

Thanks for any input or suggestions!