Khadeja signed up to become a PAWS NY volunteer in May 2022, after reading about PAWS NY in an article about loneliness during the pandemic. She loves animals, but can’t have any in her apartment, and she has been volunteering with the organization since that time.

“I’ve always loved caring for animals, and I knew PAWS NY would be a great place to volunteer, where I could contribute to the community and their furry friends,” Khadeja said. “There are many resources to assist the elderly, but there aren’t many that will tend to their pets also. Pets are great companions, and it is important that they are cared for just the same.”

As a volunteer, Khadeja helps care for two cats named Barnum and Bailey, as well as a Rat Terrier named Bruno. She’ll take Bruno out for walks along the Hudson River and help clean and refill the litterbox for the two cats.

“I remember my first day volunteering with PAWS; I was both excited and nervous,” Khadeja said. “I remember vividly how excited Bruno was on our first day meeting each other: his tail was wagging, and he jumped up to meet me. Immediately all my nerves went away, and I knew it was a great match!”

Plus, she added, it’s been a great experience to get to know the human clients as well. Bruno and his guardian John are always so welcoming when she picks up Bruno for his walks. And after cleaning the litterbox for Barnum and Bailey, “I have fun chats with Carol while we watch the kitties chase each other.”

Khadeja has enjoyed seeing PAWS NY continue to grow and change as we emerged from the pandemic and one of her favorite memories was the Volunteer Holiday Party in December 2022—the first time we hosted something in person since 2019.

“All the volunteers got together and made gift baggies for our clients and their pets. It was an amazing night filled with fun and laughter,” she said. “What was also special about that night was the commitment we had to curating the perfect gifts to bring some joy to our clients.”

Thanks to Khadeja for her commitment as a PAWS NY volunteer and for bringing joy to Bruno and John, and Barnum, Bailey, and Carol each week!

Khadeja’s Volunteer Spotlight was included in the PAWS NY Annual Report for FY 2023. Click here to download the read the full Annual Report [PDF].

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“This is huge. This is a revelation,” said Tawny in the introduction to the episode. “I love pets and I currently have two. I’ve always had pets. So this strikes a personal chord as a person in recover and an animal lover.”

Later on, Lisa added, “I have also seen a ton of people over the years who, one of the biggest things that kept them from going inpatient when they needed to was, ‘I cannot leave my cat. I cannot leave my dog. I don’t have anyone to take care of my animal.’ That is why what you’re doing with the Substance Recovery program is great.”

Check out Carrie’s full episode of the Recovery Rocks podcast to learn more about pets and mental health, our Substance Use Recovery Program, and more. Thanks to Lisa and Tawny for having us on the show!

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Sadly, two longtime clients of PAWS NY passed away recently, and we are looking for a new home for their sweet pets: Gigi and Baby Boy. Are you interested in adopting either of them? 

Sweet Gigi is a senior Shepherd Mix who is super friendly and smart. She loves to be around people and is good with other dogs, and she needs some extra love as she lives out her golden years.

As a senior pup, Gigi deals with joint pain and is on a few daily medications. She doesn’t do well with stairs, so a home without steep steps would be ideal. We’re also hoping her fur-ever home will be with someone patient and strong, who can give her an occasional boost on her walks. 

Update as of December 20, 2023: Baby Boy has been adopted!

Handsome Baby Boy is also looking for a new home. A neutered, mellow senior cat who loves attention, Baby Boy hasn’t lived with other pets, but would likely be fine with other calm and friendly pets in the home. He is healthy and would make a wonderful, low-maintenance animal companion.

If you are interested in adopting either of these pets, please click here to download and complete our Adoption Application and email it to Liz.Raganella@pawsny.org. We’re hoping to find them fur-ever homes in the NYC area.

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From the Letter from our Executive Director and Board Chair:

As the team at PAWS NY reflects on the past year, we are overwhelmed with gratitude for the unwavering support of our generous community. Your commitment to our mission of keeping New Yorkers in need together with their beloved pets has made all the difference. Together, we have truly helped to improve the lives of all we serve. That is why we are pleased to present this year’s Annual Report with a summary of all the impactful initiatives that we were able to provide to the NYC community due to your generosity.

This past year was a busy one for PAWS NY, as we continued to expand our programs and reach across New York City. We hired Elia Rangel as a new Intake Coordinator to help with outreach in the outer boroughs, and Adrianna Ruiz joined the team as Foster Administrator, helping with Hospital Respite foster cases and launching the new Substance Use Recovery Program.

Additionally, PAWS NY once again hosted our annual Barks & Blooms Spring Benefit at the Monarch Rooftop, raising more than $168,000 thanks to the generosity of our community and a special gift from the ASPCA. We also participated in more than 16 community and volunteer service events across NYC, debuted an animated short created by Klick Health called The Bridge, and saw some great press coverage from PIX11 News, All for Animals TV / 1010WINS, and more.

On behalf of the staff and board at PAWS NY, we thank each and every one of you for your support and partnership. None of our work would be possible without you and our incredible network, and we are proud of all that has been achieved. You inspire us every day!

Click here to download the PDF of the full Annual Report.

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On two separate occasions in October and November, PAWS NY partnered with 9 Million Reasons, a Long Island City-based food pantry, to distribute pet food and supplies alongside the organization’s regular weekly food pick-up service. Thanks to a donation from Tom’s Pet Supply, we were able to distribute 640.5 pounds of dog food, plus 67 pounds of cat food and 130 pounds of litter and other supplies from the PAWS NY Pet Pantry in October.

And in November, we distributed an additional 167 pounds of dog food, 66 pounds of cat food, and 54 pounds of litter and supplies. Overall, this new initiative helped nearly 50 pet guardians in Queens continue to care for their beloved animal companions.

“I am so happy to get this dog food, it helps out so much,” said one pet guardian who came to the event. “It’s hard to afford food nowadays.”

As we move into 2024, PAWS NY hopes to host these public Pet Pantry events more often, in all five boroughs of NYC. Please consider donating to our Holiday Fundraising Campaign to help support the Pet Pantry and other programs from PAWS NY.

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“Having a pet means that someone needs you and you have a responsibility to show up for them,” Carrie said in the article. “This provides purpose, as well as schedule and structure to one’s life. In addition, being active naturally reduces stress.”

Among other topics, Carrie shared her “Five Ways To Maximize the Mental Health Benefits of Having a Pet” in the interview. Check them out:

1. Prepare: Make sure you are choosing the right pet and that you have plans in place for unforeseen events.

2. Be Present: Put aside time to spend with your pet where you are not distracted, and you can both enjoy each other’s company.

3. Pay Attention: Notice when you or your pet might need extra support and take action to visit with your own therapist or set up a veterinary appointment as needed.

4. Do New Things: Join a cat lovers group, or make a point to get to know the other folks walking dogs in your neighborhood. It will stretch you outside your comfort zone and gives you the added benefit of a larger community network.

5. Educate Yourself: Learning basic animal behavior will help you and your pet develop an even closer bond. You will be able to more fully understand how they communicate with you in many small ways all the time.

Click here to read the full interview with Carrie in Authority Magazine!

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Kathryn

“I think we all need that sense of companionship and it’s really beautiful that we can help people keep that. New York City can be a lonely place and being able to have your cat or dog—or guinea pig—is incredible.”

 

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Samuel:

“I had just lost my dog and we missed her so much. We weren’t ready to get another dog. This organization is such a great way to help people, help dogs, and help me spend more time with dogs.”

 

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Heather:

“It’s the relationship. It’s the relationship that you form with the client. The relationship you form with the pet. And really knowing that the work we’re doing at PAWS is keeping them together.”

 

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Kelly:

“Bella is just the sweetest, smartest, best dog ever. I walk her one hour at a time and the hour goes by so fast.”

 

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Diana:

“I love Laura! We met and we had an instant connection. Laura and I now see each other most days. She helps me; she’s going to teach me embroidery. I lost my mother a few years ago and I value Laura so much. She fills a void in my life. Now they are really part of my family.”

 

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NEW YORK, November 15, 2023 – Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) NY is thrilled to announce that the organization recently trained its 5,000^th volunteer. Since launching on November 11, 2009, PAWS NY has helped more than 1,500 older adults and individuals living with illness or disability care for their pets—thanks to the hard work of volunteers all over New York City.

At PAWS NY, volunteers help clients with dog walking, litterbox maintenance, administration of pet food and water, basic grooming, and transporting pets to and from the veterinarian’s office. Plus, they chip in extra visits to help deliver pet food and supplies, as well as the annual Holiday Gift Bags.

“Without our amazing volunteers, the work of PAWS NY is simply not possible,” said Rachel Herman, Founder and Executive Director of PAWS NY. “We truly have the most dedicated and passionate volunteers who love helping their fellow New Yorkers and their animal companions every day. We are so excited to have trained more than 5,000 volunteers since our inception and can’t wait to bring 5,000 more into the mix in the coming years.”

Reaching 5,000 Volunteers

As of March 15, 2020, PAWS NY had trained 2,332 volunteers, and the organization more than doubled its numbers over the past three and a half years. Between March 2020 and November 2023, more than 2,660 volunteers joined PAWS NY.

“One of the ways we adapted at the beginning of the pandemic was by switching from in-person to Virtual Volunteer Orientations,” explained Liz Raganella, the Senior Program Manager at PAWS NY who leads all orientations. “By doing this, we’ve been able to train significantly more volunteers. Additionally, one of our current goals is to do more outreach and recruitment in the outer boroughs, and offering virtual orientations has made it much easier to connect with folks in these areas as well.”

PAWS NY volunteers have made more than 120,000 visits to New Yorkers and their pets since the organization began and are currently on track to make more than 22,000 visits during this fiscal year. Of the volunteers trained since March 2020, about 38% live in an outer borough, which has been helpful as PAWS NY focuses on further increasing its presence beyond Manhattan, ensuring that the organization is bringing services to those in need no matter where they live in NYC.

Volunteer Kathryn found PAWS NY after moving to New York City from St. Louis more than six years ago: “The most rewarding part is allowing people to keep their pets in their lives, especially as they get older,” she said in a video about PAWS NY. “I think we all need that sense of companionship and it’s really beautiful that we can help people keep that. New York City can be a lonely place and being able to have your cat or dog—or guinea pig—is incredible.”

If you are interested in becoming a PAWS NY volunteer, visit our website to register for an upcoming Virtual Volunteer Orientation on one of these dates:

• Monday, December 4 at 6:00pm
• Wednesday, December 20 at 6:00pm

———-

About PAWS NY

The mission of PAWS NY is to help New York City’s most vulnerable residents remain with their pets by delivering critical programs and services through a community of partners and volunteers. Our programs help keep pets in their homes while protecting and promoting the human-animal bond that is so physically and psychologically valuable to our clients.  Thus, our motto: helping people by helping pets. To learn more, visit www.pawsny.org.

Related Links:
http://www.pawsny.org

———-

Contact:

PAWS NY: Kimberly Green
(o): 212-203-4760, x304
(e): Kimberly.Green@pawsny.org

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Stress Relief

According to the Mayo Clinic, “Volunteering reduces stress and increases positive, relaxed feelings by releasing dopamine. By spending time in service to others, volunteers report feeling a sense of meaning and appreciation, both given and received, which can have a stress-reducing effect.”

Expand Your Community

As a volunteer, particularly with an organization such as PAWS NY, you get to meet new people and build relationships with the individuals—and pets—you’re helping. You can also get to know your fellow volunteers, and all of this builds up the social safety net and friendships across the board.

Get Happy!

Researchers at the London School of Economics found that people become happier by volunteering more: “Volunteering has a positive, causal influence on self-reported happiness,” they found. Other researchers measured hormones and brain activity, to discover that being helpful to others delivers immense pleasure.

Animal Love

Particularly as a volunteer with PAWS NY, you also gain all the benefits of interacting with pets!

Specifically, research has indicated that pet guardianship and the Human-Animal Bond (HAB) can help reduce fear, anxiety, and stress-related parameters such as cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure; increase trustworthiness of and trust toward other persons; enhance levels of empathy towards others; and improve physical health, especially cardiovascular health.

In honor of World Kindness Day, which is November 13, sign up to volunteer—with PAWS NY or another worthwhile nonprofit organization—to reap the benefits and bring more kindness into this world!

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Most of these runners fundraised on our behalf in order to participate in the Marathon, while one already had guaranteed entry via another process, but still wanted to support PAWS NY however they could. Overall, Team PAWS NY raised more than $75,395 this year, with volunteer Emily (below, left) as the top fundraiser!

We’re so grateful to all the members of Team PAWS NY and the support that they give to our organization through this program. Not only do they raise a lot of money to help us continue our work, but they also spread the word about PAWS NY—through their fundraising and social media posts, and PAWS NY Marathon t-shirts!

If you were inspired by yesterday’s Marathon, consider applying to join Team PAWS NY for the 2024 United Airlines NYC Half!

A special thank you to the individuals who donated to PAWS NY in their honor. There’s still time to donate to their campaign. And congratulations all our runners! We hope you get plenty of time to rest and relax today!

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