We had the nicest lady stop by on her way out of the dog park tonight and she asked us about our aluminum can recycling program.
It’s one of the ways people help us — and the environment — and I realized I haven’t talked about it in a while and wanted to share it again.
At the shelter on Letterkenny Road West, there is a fenced-in area to the right of the building where people drop off their aluminum cans. We take them to be recycled and bring the money back to the shelter to help take care of our animals.
Our aluminum recycling program brings in about $600 a month.
That figure often surprises people — heck, it surprised me the first time I heard it.
We ask that you bag up the cans and tie it shut for us so we’re not digging around the bottom of the area for stray cans.
One more thing: Please don’t mix cat food cans or other food cans in with your soda and beer cans. Our recycling program can only accept aluminum beverage cans.
If you have soda or beer cans you’re looking to recycle, please feel free to gather them up and bring them to the shelter.
It’s just one more way of helping the animals in our care — and this one is a twofer because you’re helping the environment, too.
Another great way to help the shelter, which is a program we’ve been doing since I started working here 25 years ago is pet banks.
We have pet banks set up at local businesses throughout the area — often on the counter when people are paying their bills — and we ask for donations to help our animals.
Our board president has a whole setup he created with plastic rectangular banks that have locks on them and he knows where they all are and goes around and collects them.
Would you believe since June last year, those pet banks have made more than $9,000 for the shelter? It’s true.
Just by asking people for their spare change at the counter, we have raised almost $10,000 for the animals in our care.
I have always believed that absolutely every penny helps our animals. So when kids come into us with donations from a lemonade stand or a bake sale or presents from their birthday, it all adds up.
As you can see, so do our aluminum cans and pet banks.
So if you have ever dropped off cans at the shelter or put change in a pet bank or purchased a lemonade from a stand or bought a yummy bake sale item knowing the money was coming to CVAS, you have helped our animals have a better stay at the shelter.
We are grateful for every single penny donated to help our animals.
Without help from you, we couldn’t help them — it’s as simple as that.
It’s humbling to experience in a world that can feel a little topsy turvy sometimes.
To everyone who helps us help our babies, thank you so very much.
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Jennifer Vanderau is the Public Relations Coordinator for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter and can be reached at [email protected]. The shelter accepts both monetary and pet supply donations. For more information, call the shelter at 263-5791 or visit www.cvas-pets.org. CVAS also operates a thrift store in Chambersburg. Help support the animals at the shelter by donating to or shopping at the store.
