Introduction

Animals are in need—and you can help them. This is not a controversial statement, but it’s also not one that gets shared often enough. There are millions of animals that need our help every single year, and each animal has its own story to tell. Sometimes they need a home or medical care; sometimes they’ve been abused by humans and need love and attention; other times they just need someone to advocate on their behalf.

If you love animals (and who doesn’t?), here are some ways you can help:

Adopt

Adoption is a great way to help animals in need. The number of pets euthanized each year continues to rise, and sadly, these figures are expected to increase until we can find ways to reduce them. Adopting an animal from your local shelter can make all the difference for both you and the animal you bring home with you.

The truth is that adoption saves lives—not just yours or your new pet’s but also those of other homeless animals who may be euthanized if they don’t find homes soon enough. If this weren’t reason enough, there are financial benefits as well: many shelters offer discounts on multiple adoptions at once!

Spay or Neuter Your Pets

Another way you can help reduce the number of animals in need is to spay or neuter your pets. Spaying and neutering is a surgical procedure that prevents the spread of disease and unwanted behaviors in your dog or cat. It also helps keep them healthy, as physical changes will occur if they are not fixed. The best part? You’ll save money on vet bills later on, since spaying or neutering is one of the most effective ways to prevent medical conditions such as cancer and infections—which can cost thousands of dollars!

Volunteer

Volunteering is a great way to help make a difference in the lives of animals. When you volunteer at an animal shelter, you get to know the animals, and they will get to know you. You can help out with everything from cleaning up after them to adoption events.

There are many opportunities for volunteering at local events such as dog parks or community gardens. Volunteering is also very rewarding in itself!

Donate to Charities that Help Animals

You can also donate to charities that help animals. These are usually 501(c)(3) organizations, so they’re tax-deductible. Here are some examples:

• animal shelters
• animal rescue organizations
• veterinarians who treat animals for free or at a reduced rate (look up your local veterinarian and see if they have any programs in place)
• local animal welfare organizations, like the ones here and here (many of these receive funding from the ASPCA, which is another great place to donate)
• national animal welfare organizations like PETA

If you’re looking for an international charity with specific goals for benefitting animals, The Humane Society International has a number of programs focused on improving conditions for domesticated animals around the world.

Advocate for Animals with the Power of Your Inbox

There’s a lot of ways you can advocate for animals with the power of your inbox. You can email your local, state and federal representatives, write letters to the editor, write a blog post, create a petition or even create a hashtag. Share your thoughts on social media! The more people that know about animals’ struggles and what they need from us—as humans—the better off they’ll be.

Create an Animal-Related Fundraiser

A great way to raise money for animals in need is by creating an animal-related fundraising event. There are a variety of ways you can create a successful fundraiser, but it’s important to first plan out every step of the process and make sure you have all of your ducks in a row before you start promoting and selling tickets. Here are the basic steps:

• Write up a detailed plan that includes an overview of what you’ll be doing, who will be helping out, how much money you hope to raise, where and when the event will take place as well as any other details about what people should expect from this particular fundraiser. You don’t want anyone showing up on the day of not realizing what’s going on!
• Build a social media presence around your event; this might include Facebook groups or even just posting flyers around town announcing when tickets will go on sale (and how much they cost). You should also reach out directly via email or phone call when possible so people know exactly where their money is going when purchasing tickets for this specific event.
• Create promotional materials such as posters, flyers and banners so that everyone knows all about what kind of cause this fundraiser supports

Donate Items to Animal Shelters

Donating items to animal shelters is one of the best ways you can help animals in need. Here are some tips for donating items:

• Donate items that are in good condition, easy to transport and in demand by the shelter. If an item is too small or too large or heavy, it may be hard for a shelter staff member to handle.
• Donate items that are not too old. Shelters often have limited funds and space for storage, so they want to make sure that what they store has value and won’t just sit around taking up space or going bad before it’s needed by another animal.

Donate Your Time Through Fostering Animals

• Foster animals in your own home.
• If you have the space and resources, consider fostering an animal from a shelter or rescue group. Fostering is also a great way to help animals who don’t often get adopted into homes because of their age or breed (they’re too old or too young, may have behavioral issues or health problems).

Foster animals can be dogs, cats and even small critters like bunnies! The organization will provide all the supplies needed for caring for that animal including food and veterinary bills while they are with you. You’ll also receive weekly updates on how the foster pet is doing so that if anything changes at home—like your schedule changing so that you no longer have time to care for them—you can let them know right away instead of leaving them alone in a cage without knowing what’s going on with their life outside of foster care until they find their forever family! It’s important not to keep animals longer than necessary since it’s best for both parties: Your house isn’t being used up by other animals’ needs when there are plenty more out there waiting for homes with people who will love them unconditionally.”

Participate in Local Animal Rights Campaigns

• If you’re an animal lover, there are a number of ways to help animals in need. One of the easiest and most effective things you can do is vote with your wallet. By choosing to purchase cruelty-free products and services, you’ll be supporting companies that don’t support animal testing or other harmful practices. Some examples include:
• * Vegetarianism
• * Veganism
• * Not buying leather products
• You can also volunteer at local animal shelters or rescue organizations so that they have more resources for their work advocating for animals. You could also donate items like food or blankets if needed!

Get Outdoors and Protect Wild Species

• Learn about the area you are visiting and make sure you are properly prepared
• Follow the rules of the park or preserve you visit
• Be careful when approaching wild animals
• Do not feed, touch or disturb wildlife in any way
• Take care of yourself and others around you

There are many ways you can help animals in need.

There are many ways you can help animals in need.

• Adopt, spay or neuter your pets.
• Volunteer at an animal shelter and walk dogs, clean cages and play with the cats.
• Donate to animal charities like the ASPCA, World Wildlife Fund and Animal Planet’s Make A Difference Campaign (which helps support shelters) through their websites or at your local grocery store checkout line where many companies offer a variety of causes to donate to on their receipts. It takes just one minute out of every day to make a difference!
• Advocate for animals in your inbox by signing petitions such as PETA’s campaign against SeaWorld animal cruelty or HSUS’ petition against horse meat consumption in Europe. You can also sign up for emails from these organizations that send updates about current campaigns so that you can take action right away!

Conclusion

We hope that this list helps you find ways to make a difference in the lives of animals and the planet. You can choose to help animals in need by adopting one of your own, spaying or neutering your pets and advocating for them with the power of your inbox. If those options aren’t right for you, there are many other ways to make an impact on animals such as volunteering at shelters, participating in local animal rights campaigns or getting outdoors and protecting wild species. The important thing is that we all do our part because each action adds up!