February 2026 Maddie's Monthly Foster Connection
Shelter Evacuation via Emergency Foster Homes
One day ahead of Hurricane Helene hitting Asheville, NC, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue orchestrated a shelter evacuation into emergency foster homes with 100 animals going out the door in just two hours and two-thirds of the emergency fosters never having fostered for the organization previously. This action turned out to be lifesaving, as their shelter was consumed by 12 feet of floodwaters that very night. With full shelters across the US and an increase in natural disasters (a hurricane in the NC mountains?!), every animal welfare facility can benefit from having a plan in place to quickly evacuate pets to the safety of emergency foster homes. Join the Brother Wolf team to learn how to prepare ahead of time, communicate effectively when an evacuation occurs, collaborate with your community for support, and oversee the logistics seamlessly. These same strategies can be used to place animals into emergency foster homes due to any crisis: full shelter, unexpected large intake, part of shelter under construction, etc. The Brother Wolf team will walk you through turning a crisis into an opportunity for community connection and lifesaving work, together.
Guest Speakers:
Leah Craig Chumbley, Executive Director, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue
Sara Groce, Director of Programs, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue
Leah Craig Chumbley has worked in animal welfare for over a decade and is currently the Executive Director of Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in Asheville, NC, where she is honored to work to better the lives of companion animals and the people who love them. Leah Craig holds a degree in Communications and Public Relations with minors in Nonprofit Studies and Animal Science. She is passionate about decreasing suffering and increasing joy in the world and is honored to get to do just that through Brother Wolf Animal Rescue's daily work.
Sara Groce, CAWA holds a masters degree in Anthropology and is passionate about working with and for her community. As Director of Programs at Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, she has spent the last six years using data-driven strategies to streamline processes and automate operations. She is driven by finding innovative, tech-forward solutions that make a real difference for companion animals and the people who love them.
About Maddie's Monthly Foster Connection:
Join us on the first Thursday of every month to discuss successful foster innovations and programs, collaborate with others in the field, answer questions and talk through complex foster-related issues.
Who should join: Foster managers, coordinators, volunteers and any staff who are interested in learning about what’s working in foster programs.
Register here: https://maddies.fund/MonthlyFosterRegistration
Can't attend live? Register anyway and you will get a link to the recording within a day or two after each meeting.
All recordings and resources shared during the webcast will also be available in the Maddie's Monthly Foster Connection group on Maddie's Pet Forum https://maddies.fund/monthlyfosterconnectionMPF
Maddie's Fund does not share registration information.
The opinions expressed by webinar presenters are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Maddie’s Fund.
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