Shecky’s

You know that old camera sitting in your desk drawer? What if we told you it could be used by a shelter volunteer to take photos of otherwise ignored dogs and cats most certainly on their way to death? What if we told you that you could easily save a life by donating your old camera? No brainer, right?

The organization S.T.I.C.K.S.’ (Supplying Technology in County Kill Shelters) goal is to help municipal shelters (kill shelters) find ways to increase their adoptions through the use of readily available and inexpensive technology. They accept donations of working digital cameras and computers to be delivered to any needy shelter. Their hope is that this donated equipment will increase adoptions of shelter animals by providing the shelters the ability to promote the animals on sites such as petfinder.com, petharbor.com and pets911.org.

Research has shown that simply adding a photograph to an adoption advertisement increases the chances of adoption over 10-fold.

According to the American Humane Organization, nearly 10 million dogs and cats are euthanized annually in the United States.

That’s:

• 10,000,000 every year
• 833,333 every month
• 191,780 every week
• 27,397 each day
• 1,141 every hour of the day 7 days a week
• or think of it as 19 animals put to sleep every second of every hour of every day each year

These statistics are appalling, but by helping the shelters find a way to effectively publicize the animals in their shelters to the general public, a goal of reducing these figures is a reality. By accepting new and gently used digital cameras and computers from the public, S.T.I.C.K.S. is able to provide these at no cost to the community shelters, rescues and other volunteers, who are then able to make the pictures and upload them to the various adoption websites. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Cross-posting and networking these animals is a proven strategy, and it couldn’t be easier (while we are on that topic, don’t forget to repost GirlieGirl Army’s animals in need page weekly!). You get a tax-write off for your donation, the shelters are able to move more animals out of the shelter environment, the volunteers are able to devote their money to such things as gasoline or maintaining their vehicle so they can continue the daily trips to the countless shelters. But best of all, the animals get a chance at actually having a life. Now that’s a gorgeous picture.

-Chloé Jo Davis for GirleGirl Army; all images via GirleGirl Army

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GIRL TALK TIME: It’s the last day of National Volunteer Week…have you helped out yet? How? What do you think of this cause?