How to go from being a passive activist to an active one.
8:24 PM
Hey there everyone! Ugh I'm sorry I've been away for SO long. Sadly other things caught my attention and I never found the time to finish these posts. So, here I go.
Sharing stuff on social networks really makes a difference.
So, how do you go from sharing stuff from the comfort of your home to going out there and getting "Down and dirty"? First of all, you go step by step. Find out if there is an animal welfare organization near you and find out if they accept volunteers. Volunteer work is actually a really good place to help out without having to take an animal to your home. Personally, besides the rescuing, I go to adoption and neutering events to help out with the animals. This work includes a variety of things like cleaning up after the animals, feeding them, gathering information from new volunteers and giving away balloons with rescue related messages to kids. By volunteering, you become an active activist. By this I mean that you get involved directly in the cause and interact with the people on the other side of the mirror. Giving out information, sharing pamphlets, speaking to people face to face. It isn't easy, but at the end of the day it is really, really gratifying.
Of course, you don't have to be active if you don't want to. Thing is, I consider just the sharing of information enough. Of course, if everyone actively helped out, the stray animal problem probably wouldn't exist. But I believe that doing something is better than doing nothing, and I appreciate the fact that some people at least make an effort to do something as frivolous as sharing a post on facebook.
So, let's get down to business. Yes, most of us animal lovers would love to help out, to be a hero, to change the world. But let's face it, it is really,really, really difficult. It's not because we don't have the will to change, or to do something, or to go out to the world and kick some serious butt. Thing is other people usually make the already hard road a helluva lot harder.
Most of us don't see how much of an impact we have on the world. Just because the good things we do don't come out on the morning news doesn't mean they aren't important. That dog you shared on facebook might have gotten a home because of you. Or maybe that cat you retweeted might have been adopted by one of your followers.
Anyways, given that I'm not really making any sense, my recommendation is that you volunteer. It's a really beautiful experience and it'll make you feel a lot closer to your cause. Helping animals first hand makes you understand on a deeper level how much help they actually need. Find a local shelter and contact them, go to fundraisers and adoption events to help out. That is a really nice way to go active and meet a ton of awesome people who think the same way you go about animals :)
Most of us don't see how much of an impact we have on the world. Just because the good things we do don't come out on the morning news doesn't mean they aren't important. That dog you shared on facebook might have gotten a home because of you. Or maybe that cat you retweeted might have been adopted by one of your followers.
Anyways, given that I'm not really making any sense, my recommendation is that you volunteer. It's a really beautiful experience and it'll make you feel a lot closer to your cause. Helping animals first hand makes you understand on a deeper level how much help they actually need. Find a local shelter and contact them, go to fundraisers and adoption events to help out. That is a really nice way to go active and meet a ton of awesome people who think the same way you go about animals :)
I hope this post was helpful somehow. I'm sorry for the delay and the lack of overall coherence. Please stay tuned for my next post: Tips to have a successful rescue and not die while trying.
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