Things To Donate To Your Local Animal Shelter

April 24, 2018 by 10 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FortunaForAll #cbias #CollectiveBias

With Earth Day this past weekend I’ve been thinking a lot about giving old things new life. I had a massive pile of old blankets and towels to donate and our local animal shelter just seemed like the best place to donate them (because let’s be honest here- nobody wants to buy your old towels and you feel guilty just tossing them, right?) This got me thinking about other things animal shelters may need so I wanted to create a list of things you can donate to an animal shelter, from things you might have around your home to pet supplies you can get at PetSmart (the one-stop shop for all your pet’s needs!) to the thing that nobody has enough of- time.

I recommend calling your local shelter to see what items they need before you donate, but here are the top 5 things I’d suggest donating:

Blankets & Towels

If your family is anything like mine you probably have amassed a large number of towels, blankets, and other linens that you aren’t using. We have a whole laundry basket full of King size bed linens that don’t fit our new Queen-sized bed! Instead of storing these things you may need “some day”, consider giving them to your local animal shelter where they will actually use them now. The towels will help dry freshly bathed cats and dogs and the blankets will provide soft bedding for them. (Just look at how comfy my two look, in the photo above, all curled up on Jacob’s blanket!)

Grooming Supplies

Pet shampoo, fur brushes, nail clippers and other grooming supplies help shelters make animals look more presentable, and therefore, more adoptable. Every shelter’s goal is to find good homes for their animals so this is really important! Grooming tools are very useful and things that I don’t think are donated very often.

Hover over the image above to shop this product at PetSmart!

Pet Food

Probably the one thing animal shelters run out of the quickest is the one thing that is a necessity for all- food. Next time you are at the store getting food for your pet, consider grabbing an extra bag or two for your local animal shelter. I found a great selection of Purina products at PetSmart so when I got a bag for my cats, Peaches and Boomer, I also got an extra bag for the shelter. Some of the pets in the shelter may have been taken from the streets or might not come from the best homes so quality food is so important for their health. For cats, I think the Purina® ONE Smartblend Sensitive dry cat food is a good choice for the shelters because it’s Veterinarian recommended formula is made with no fillers―only ingredients that have purpose―like essential vitamins, minerals and taurine for immune system health and omega-6 fatty acids which helps prevent skin irritations and supports their immune and digestive systems. Another dry cat food that provides outstanding nutrition is the Purina® Pro Plan Savor Shredded Blend that is a mix of crunchy kibble and tender meaty pieces that provide cats with plenty of protein and live probiotics to support digestive health.

Gift Cards

Gift cards are perfect to donate because the animal shelter can purchase whatever they need with them when it’s needed. Purina and PetSmart are making it easy to give gift cards because, now through 5/18/18, if you spend $20 on Purina products you get a $5 PetSmart gift card! So why not buy food for your pets and then donate the gift card you are sent? To get the rebate: 1) Shop for participating products to reach a cart total of $20 or more. 2) Upload your receipt on PurinaFortunes.com (before 5/31/18) to get a $5 PetSmart gift card which will be mailed to you in 8-10 weeks. 3) Repeat steps 1-2 as often as you’d like (subsequent receipts can be of any value and when $20 in Purina products have been accumulated, you will receive another gift card. Also, this is considered “gift with purchase,” so users don’t redeem for their gift cards).

Your Time

Many shelters count on volunteers to run. Donating your time, even if it’s just an hour or two a month, is so appreciated. Volunteers are needed to cuddle with animals, take dogs for walks, clean, foster pets, take photos of adoptable animals, play with cats, and more. Contact your local shelter to see what the greatest needs are and how you can help!

Other items you can donate include: cat litter, toys, cat carriers, cleaning supplies, old newspapers, leashes, pet beds, water/food bowls, and treats. I hope this list has given you ideas of things that your local animal shelter would really appreciate!

Don’t forget about the Purina gift card rebate! Find all your pet necessities at PetSmart (including Purina cat and dog food) and, while you are uploading your receipt, play the Paws of Fate game! Register with your contact information so you can receive an entry into the Grand Prize Sweepstakes to win a custom cat or dog bed. (Just a heads up- sharing the promotion via Twitter will also earn you an additional entry into the grand prize sweepstakes.) Also, play the instant win game (no purchase necessary to win) at PurinaFortunes.com to instantly win prizes such as PetSmart gift cards, as well as Save a Fortune tarot cards (Purina sent me a pack and they are pretty amusing!)

2 GRAND PRIZES:

-1 Dreams of Fortune Cat Bed (ARV: $2,145)
-1 Dreams of Fortune Dog Bed (ARV: $2,145)

INSTANT WIN GAME PRIZES:

-Purina Branded Tarot Cards (50 total) – ARV: $25/ea
-$50 PetSmart Gift Card (15 total) – ARV: $50.00/ea
-$25 PetSmart Gift Card (15 total) – ARV: $25.00/ea
-$10 PetSmart Gift Card (25 total) – ARV: $10.00/ea

 How will you help your local animal shelter? Get more pet-friendly ideas here.

Filed Under: Causes/ Charities, Pets Tagged With: , , , ,

Buying School Supplies #BagItForward

July 29, 2011 by 1 Comment

Jacob is headed to preschool in a few weeks and with that comes buying school supplies! Jacob was very excited to do this so we headed to Walmart. While there we also bought items to give to a family in need. One of my friends told me about a family who had just lost their home and a young girl who could really use some new supplies so we wanted to pack a bag of school supplies for her, too. We got everything we needed at Walmart including many Elmer’s products like Disappearing Purple Glue Sticks and a school supply “must have”, Elmer’s School Glue. You can learn more about my shopping experience here.

School supplies we are donating :)

Supplies in a cute bag ready to be delivered and a special gift for the girl's mom.

Bag It Forward is a great program and I encourage you to join in if you are able to. Here is a little more information about it from the website:

“As students head back to school this fall, many will head out to shop for brand new, shiny school supplies. But some will not have the resources they need to be successful. That’s where you and Elmer’s come in. This year, let’s join together and Bag It Forward, by picking up an extra bag of school supplies and donating it locally in your community.”

You can find all the details on Elmer’s Bag It Forward website.

In addition to Bag It Forward, Elmer’s is donating items to the Kids in Need Foundation. From July 25th through September 1st, for each “like” on the Elmer’s Facebook page, the company will donate a product to the Foundation’s national network of free stores, where teachers from disadvantaged schools can “shop” for free for school supplies.

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(Disclosure: This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Elmer’s #BagItForward #CollectiveBias but all opinions are my own.)

Filed Under: Causes/ Charities, Collective Bias, Preschool Tagged With: , , , ,

Helping Japan

March 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment

By now I’m sure every one of you has seen the devastating news of Japan’s natural disaster. My heart goes out to all the people who have lost loved ones, homes, and possessions.

Click here to be taken to the NYTimes website to view before and after pictures of Japan

If you are thinking of donating I recommend World Vision and American Red Cross. Many organizations also accept donations via text message. If you text REDCROSS to 90999 you can easily give $10 to the cause.

If giving financially isn’t an option for you right now you can pray for the people of Japan (and also the other areas affected by the tsunami and earthquake).

What other ways have you heard about to help Japan? I’d love if you could share them in the comments below.

Filed Under: Causes/ Charities Tagged With: , , , ,

Help for Haiti- How Much YOU Raised…

January 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I am overwhelmed by all of the comments and link-ups to my ‘Help for Haiti’ post. I just wanted to let you all know that BECAUSE OF YOU I am donating $48 dollars and 22 hours of my time to Feed My Starving Children. Considering every $1 provides about 6 meals, we just provided 288 meals. That is awesome! The money will be donated this week and the volunteering will happen in the Spring (right now they are booked through March!). Thank you again to everyone who participated! I am so proud of everyone for coming together to help the Haitian people. Remember you can still help the people by praying for them over the next weeks, months, and years as they rebuild their lives.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Help for Haiti- How You Can Help For Free!

January 15, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Watching the video clips and viewing pictures of the earthquake’s aftermath in Haiti brings me to tears. Seeing the stunned faces. The battered bodies. The frightened children. The people sleeping in the streets…. I knew there must be some way that I could help them from where I was, with the resources I had available. When Crystal Paine a.k.a. Money Saving Mom asked other bloggers to come together and join her in giving to Haiti I immediately jumped at the opportunity to help. She has asked each blogger participating to choose which organization we would like to donate to and write a blog post inviting others to link up to us with how they plan to contribute. To do this I need your help.

Here’s what I would like you, my readers and friends, to do… Think about what you have done to help Haiti (or are currently doing). If you are a blogger please blog about how you are supporting the people of Haiti and add your link to Mister Linky. If you do not have a blog you can leave a comment below.

For every blog post that is linked up by midnight on January 21, 2010 I will be donating $1 to Feed My Starving Children. One dollar may not seem like a lot to us but this charity will stretch that dollar and provide six meals to hungry children. $62 will feed one child for a year and $170 will put food in one thousand mouths.

For every comment that is added by midnight on the 21st I will be donating half an hour of my time to volunteering at the organization helping package the meals. Financially I can’t do as much as I would like to so I want to offer up my time. Part of the reason I chose this organization is because it is within an hour of where I live and they use volunteers to package the meals. As of now they are booked through March with people wanting to help so I will be volunteering in the Spring- and into the summer if you guys overload me with comment love! I plan to have a ticker so you can see my progress and the hours served.

Most importantly please remember the people of Haiti in your prayers. This is the most powerful thing you can do!

Won’t you join me? Please link up or comment below.

Filed Under: Causes/ Charities, Helping Others, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,