Contact:

  2117 E. Club Blvd.
  Durham, NC 27704

  919-560-0640
How Children Can Help

Children Can Help Animals and the Community 

Many young people ask how they can help the homeless animals at the Durham County Animal Shelter. Unfortunately, due to liability concerns, volunteers working with the animals at the shelter (feeding, socializing, etc.) must be at least 18 years old, or be assisting a parent or legal guardian who is performing volunteer animal care activities.

If you’re not old enough to qualify as an animal care volunteer at the animal shelter right now, here are some great ways you can help the animals:

Encourage Your Friends and Family to Join APS
As a member of APS, you will receive the benefit of knowing you have helped saved the lives of animals in our shelter. You will also receive a subscription to our newsletter, PawPrints, a membership card, and other benefits: Membership Information

Tell People About the Shelter
If your family (or someone you know) is considering getting a pet, encourage them to come to the animal shelter. We not only have dogs, cats, puppies and kittens, we also often have rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs and sometimes birds! Check out our adoption page to see the  currently available animals.

Give out information*
 Set up a table at school or in front of the local supermarket. 

  • Ask the community to sign a pact to be responsible pet owners.
  • Have an adoption bulletin board showing adoptable animals at the shelter.
  • Hand out information about pet care, spay/neuter, animal issues, and the APS of Durham.

    • Pet of the Week/Month
     Select a pet from our website every week or month and feature him/her on your website, blog, MySpace page to help get that pet adopted more quickly!

    Or print the pet's profile and hang up at your school or in a local store (with the owner's permission).

    Be Creative
    Design a poster about pet overpopulation or pet safety, create an animal bulletin board for your school, write a song or poem about animals, perform an animal-themed play, or make a movie about an issue you care about. See the following websites for more ideas:
    Kind News
    Humane Teen
    Make a Difference, Make a Movie!
    Listen Up! 


    Click photo to enlarge

    Sponsor an Adoptable Pet
    Create and hand out flyers about an adoptable pet to help get that pet adopted.
    Cats   |   Dogs    |   Other Pets

    Make*
    Animal fact bookmarks for the school or public library.

    Educate*
    Give out correct information about animals to help people become more informed and responsible.

    Keep up-to-date*
     Read lots of books about animals. It will keep you knowledgeable and accurate.

    Be Responsible Pet Guardians
    Show others how to be a responsible pet guardian by example--be one yourself.

    Have a Display Spot for Newletters
    Maybe your school, vet, or other business you know has a spot where you could set up some newsletters for people to pick up? Let us know and we will send you a small plastic stand and a stack of newsletters.

    Write Letters
    Write letters to lawmakers and the media expressing your concerns about animals and the environment.

    Make Gift Bags
    Fill with treats, toys, grooming supplies, coupons, etc. for new adopters (cats or dogs).

    Explore
    Humane issues, such as puppy mills, circuses, animal experimentation and/or factory farming. Give a presentation or invite a speaker to talk about these issues with your group/class.

    Create
    A newspaper or newsletter about animals.

    Ask a Movie Theater
    to donate a portion of ticket sales or snack sales to the organization of choice.

    Ask Two Schools
    to participate and set up a competition between rival schools to see who can raise the most money.

    Ask Your Local Hair Salon
    to host a cut-a-thon

    Form a Club
    Organize a pet club that meets regularly. Discuss animal-related topics, go on field trips to local animal shelters and develop community service projects that benefit shelter animals. If you would like help forming your club and need ideas, call the APS of Durham’s education department!

    Organize an Animal Awareness Week
    An animal awareness week in a school, or with the entire community, will encourage animal lovers to spread the word about the importance of being kind to all living things. Be Kind to Animals Week starts on the first Monday of each May, but feel free to choose your own week! This is a great time to get your school involved in animal awareness.

    Organize a Drive
    Organize a drive in your community to collect items needed at the APS of Durham. Toys, towels, and animal food are just a few of the items needed. Put a marked container in a busy area for people to see. Give the collected items to the APS of Durham!     Check out our wish list to find out what we need most.

    Make Gifts for the Shelter Pets
    Shelter animals love to receive homemade gifts of toys, biscuits, etc. Have a classroom or neighborhood project to make items especially for shelter animals. 
    Here are some ideas:
    Craft Ideas from Shelter Source
    Dog Biscuit Recipes
    More Dog Biscuit Recipes
    Cat Toy (ball)
    Spider Cat Toy
    Free Pet Projects
    Make Gifts for Your Pet

    Spread the Word About Important Animal Issues
    Add a tagline to your e-mail signature that gets out an important message about spay/neuter, adopting a shelter pet, chaining animals, etc.

    Suggested signature lines:

    • "Save a Life – Adopt a Homeless Pet"
    • "Too Many Cats & Dogs, Not Enough Homes. Spay or Neuter."
    • "Don’t Litter. Neuter or Spay."
    • "Don’t Breed or Buy While Homeless Pets Die."
    • "Find a New Friend at Your Local Shelter. Adopt a Homeless Pet."
    • "Be Humane. Neuter or Spay."
    • "Save Lives. Spay or Neuter."
    • "Pet Overpopulation is a Problem You Can Help Solve. Spay or Neuter Your Pets."
    • "There Aren’t Enough Homes for Them All. Spay or Neuter Your Pet."
    • "Since there aren’t enough homes for them all, please have your cats & dogs neutered or spayed."
    • "Stop Overpopulation. Spay or Neuter Your Pets."
    • "Please Don’t Litter. Spay or Neuter Your Critters."
    • "Please Act Responsibly. Have Your Pet Spayed or Neutered."
    • "Stop Pet Overpopulation: Adopt Your Next Best Friend. Spay & Neuter Your Pets."
    • "I save lives! I support spay/neuter!"
    • "Please consider a rescue pet before you buy a dog or cat from a breeder or pet store. Save a life!"
    • "Protect your pet from being lost - ask your vet about microchipping."
    • "Did you know? It is safe to spay/neuter your puppy/kitten as young as 8 weeks old."
    • "Don’t chain or tether your dog. It allows no opportunity for exercise and socialization, and when done for long periods of time can lead to behavior problems."
    • "Don't chain friends, bring dogs inside."
    • "Life sentence, no parole: a chained dog can only watch as life goes by."
    • "One dog, her puppies & their offspring can produce more than 60,000 puppies in 6 years! There aren’t enough homes for them all. Please spay or neuter your pets."
    • "One cat, her kittens & their offspring can produce more than half a million cats in a little more than 7 years! There aren’t enough homes for them all. Please spay or neuter your pets."
    • "Pets are for life. Dogs can live an average of 10-14 years; cats an average of 15-18 years."
    		 

     

       

    *NOTE: Please contact the Education Committee at education@apsofdurham.org for brochures, handouts, and additional information to help with these projects.

     
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