Shelters can't exist without supporters

Jennifer Vanderau
Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter

(6/2019) Working at a non-profit for the last 18 years has been an eye-opener in so many ways.

I’ve seen some of the worst things people can do to animals and at the same time, I’ve met some of the kindest people I’ve ever had the fortune of knowing.

The needs of the shelter never really end. There’s always an animal who finds him or herself as an outcast from the life he or she knew. There’s always an animal in need of special attention, be it surgeries or time. We will always need supplies to care for the animals and people to help us.

We will always ask for help so that we can be there for the homeless pets in our care.

If there’s one thing I’ve realized over the last few weeks, it’s that we don’t do this alone. We can’t.

We rely on the kindness of strangers, so to speak, and I believe this community is truly one of the most giving, thoughtful and magnanimous ones in the state. It never ceases to amaze me that when we put the call out, people step up.

Recently, I’ve been blown away by the dedication I’ve seen from our supporters.

We start out spring every year with two outdoor events – our Easter Hound Hunt and our 5K run. When the weather is nice, we’re usually flooded with people. It’s a respite from the cabin fever I think we’d all been experiencing over the winter months.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t smile on either one of those events for us this year.

But, you know what? It didn’t really matter to our supporters.

We had almost 100 people come out to the egg hunt. In the rain! I’m not even joking. The grass was wet and it wasn’t really a total downpour, but it wasn’t dry by any stretch of the imagination and we still have people tell us what fun they had.

They took photos with the Easter bunny – soggy dogs and humans alike, and they participated in the bonnet contest after drying off their pooch. The rain didn’t stop them.

We also had almost 40 runners come out for the 5K run. They were standing at the starting line, getting ready for the go and the rain was coming down on their heads. And it wasn’t just a drizzle – they were getting soaked. They ran, despite the weather, and many of them shrugged it off, saying it’s not that big of a deal to run in the rain.

And then there were the Whisker Walk folks. We had kids and adults come out to take part in the Whisker Walk once the runners got started and the rain didn’t stop them, either. They were absolute troopers to march around this shelter in the wet grass (three times!) with umbrellas over their heads because of the drops coming out of the sky.

They all did this because they knew it was helping our animals.

I need to let that one sink in for a moment. Sometimes in this world, especially where we are right now, it’s very easy to get down on people and society in general. I know I get caught up in the maelstrom of negativity and animosity that seems to plague this planet.

It can get depressing, can’t it? Some days I wonder if there’s any good left in the world at all.

And then I come to work at the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter and someone, somewhere will remind me that there most definitely is.

We ask for help a lot at CVAS. We ask for supplies for our animals. We ask for donations of money to care for the pets that need special attention. We ask for specific foods for animals with allergies.

But you know what we also need? Dedication. It’s an intangible thing. It’s not something I can put up on Facebook and say, hey, folks, CVAS is looking for some loyalty. Do you have any to spare?

They don’t sell it in aisle ten at the local Walmart. It’s something that comes from inside each and every one of us. Some people have it more than others and some people actually seem to cultivate it.

If you look closely and pay attention, you can find that pure altruistic dedication.

I saw it these last few weeks. I saw it in people collecting Easter eggs in the rain or those runners who were soaked from more than just sweat when they got finished with our 5K and the walkers who trudged through the soggy grass.

I see it in the eyes of the girls in a Girl Scout troop that come in for a tour and bring car loads of supplies. I see it in our staff who show up every day to take care of these four-legged babies. I see it in our board members who work without any compensation to make sure this organization runs efficiently and it endures.

I see it in the people who come to the shelter – even as far away as Emmitsburg! – to help us. I see it in the devotion and commitment of people like the editor of this very paper. I see it in the people who subscribe to the Emmitsburg News Journal and send the shelter monetary donations.

And I see it in you. The one reading these words right now. Because I know you took the time to read this and that you care. About animals, about people, about the world.

You hold onto that. It’s important in the climate we have right now and there are a whole lot of people who appreciate it.

Especially those of us at the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter.

*****

Jennifer Vanderau is the Director of Communications for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter in Chambersburg, Pa., and can be reached at cvasoc@innernet.net. The shelter accepts both monetary and pet supply donations. For more information, call the shelter at (717) 263-5791 or visit the website www.cvas-pets.org.