Ideas for Animal Welfare Groups

Whether you run a shelter, are a campaigning or educational organization or support animal welfare work in another country, WAD is perfect for promoting your work and for having a day of celebration.

• Have you built new kennels or other facilities during the year? If so, use WAD to conduct an official grand opening ceremony.
• Organize an open day, and combine this with launching a sponsorship or adoption scheme. Provide refreshments and arrange simple entertainment such as face-painting for children or invite a local band to show off their skills.
• Are your premises in need of redecoration? Invite a group of local schoolchildren to paint a bright and cheerful animal mural on a bare wall. This is guaranteed to raise media attention. Alternatively, you could turn this into a fundraising venture by asking individuals for a donation in return for decorating a section of a wall in a design of their choice.
• If you are involved in rehoming animals, have a reunion party where the new owners can bring their animals (if appropriate), and find out about your current projects.
• Are you planning to launch any publications during the year, perhaps a cruelty-free shopping guide or a humane education programme? If so, use WAD to launch the publication.
• Find out if you can hire a local park, leisure centre, library or shopping centre for fund-raising activities or for an exhibition about your organization's work.
• Invite your local schools/colleges and youth groups to join you in celebrating World Animal Day. For example, you could arrange an art or a photography contest and host an exhibition of the entries.
• Organize a fund-raising auction. Request items from local retailers and manufacturers and remember to acknowledge the donors of the items.
• Liaise with a local supermarket and have a collection point beyond the checkout for tins and packets of dog and cat food. A special display with a 'wish list' of items could be placed in the petfood section of the shop to let shoppers know which items to buy.
• Raise valuable funds with a sponsored dog-walk.
• If yours is a campaigning organization, use World Animal Day to launch a particular awareness campaign.
• Contact a local school, club or similar organization and offer to give an illustrated presentation about your work.