Banfield Charitable Trust funds pilot project linking veterinary care with volunteerism
Ella, a four-month-old Australian Shepherd, was brought to Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital with a broken leg that the family couldn’t afford to fix. Rather than euthanize the dog, the attending veterinary student paid for Ella’s medical treatment and offered to return her to the family’s 15-year-old daughter on one condition: the teenager would agree to volunteer her time at the teaching hospital where she would learn about animal care. “I really don’t know how to thank you for the impact on my daughter’s life,” her mother wrote.
“By having teenagers volunteer their time at select facilities, the program helps people understand the scope of animals in need and the time and effort that is required to adequately care for them.” -- Kathleen Henry, President and CEO of Colorado State University Foundation
Out of that experience, a concept was born at CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital—to offer low-income pet owners veterinary care for their pets in exchange for volunteer work—preferably by teenaged family members—at a local pet advocacy organization in Northern Colorado. Last year alone, nearly 3,000 dogs and cats were surrendered to the area’s humane society where inability to pay for veterinary care is a leading cause of surrender.
Banfield Charitable Trust (BCT) is providing a $27,500 grant to launch Ella’s Fund, the pilot project that will test how to effectively link veterinary care with volunteerism. One veterinary professional affiliated with the project pointed out that not only do pets and local nonprofits benefit, but so does the next generation of pet owners.
“Many other programs subsidize the cost of pet’s health care without teaching responsibility,” stated Dr. Lenny Laraio, a veterinary affiliated with the project. “By having teenagers volunteer their time at select facilities, the program helps people understand the scope of animals in need and the time and effort that is required to adequately care for them.”
CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital projects that the project will serve 120 pets directly and generate approximately 2,000 hours of volunteer service. “Most importantly, our vision is to use this grant as a launching investment which will attract a greater breadth of future supporters,” said Kathleen Henry, President and CEO of Colorado State University Foundation. “We plan to use Ella’s Fund as a model for other veterinary teaching hospitals across the United States. BCT’s investment will go a long way to starting us down that path.”
Local animal care facilities that will benefit from Ella’s Fund include:
- Larimer County Humane Society
- Colorado Department of Wildlife
- Fort Collins Cat Rescue
- Rocky Mountain Raptor Rescue
Ella’s Fund featured in the coloradoan.com: CSU program exchanges work for veterinary services
Ella’s Fund is one of 25 programs funded by BCT in its second grant cycle of 2011. Thanks to our generous donors, BCT supports unique solutions that address root causes of pet surrender in local communities across the country. Learn more about our grants programs.
