Redirection of Project Shelter Funds
The North Brunswick Humane Association has long been working toward the goal of establishing a no-kill animal shelter in our community. While we have made some progress toward this goal, it has become clear that as a small, private, nonprofit, volunteer organization, the NBHA does not possess the resources needed to raise the millions that would be required to build and operate a shelter at this time. While Project Shelter is not foremost at the present time, we have not abandoned this goal entirely. We are just changing direction. Given the present state of the economy, the hope for a shelter is so far in the future that something more current needs to be done. The goal is the same, but we are going about it in a different way. We have made the decision to use some of the money that has been raised for the shelter project to fund grants supporting programs related to making sure that unwanted pets are not born in the first place, in addition to our other programs. Basically, since we as an organization have few opportunities to do “hands on” work, what we are striving for is to support the existing shelter and rescue network.
The ongoing fundraising activities of the NBHA will continue to raise money to fund the Spay Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) as well as our other ongoing programs, such as pet food distribution for families in need of short-term assistance, collection and distribution of blankets, towels and supplies used at local shelters, and educational programs in elementary schools. In addition, NBHA helps out members of the community whenever and wherever possible. Our humane traps are available for members of the community to borrow. We’ll even help with trapping if needed. Most recently, we assisted with the search for a lost housecat, who fortunately did eventually find his way home.
Several grants have been awarded for spay/neuter programs, which are directly compatible with the original purpose of the shelter program, in that a reduction in the population of unwanted and abandoned animals will reduce the need for a shelter to house these animals.
We are thankful to the many generous and caring members of our community who continue to support our organization, thereby helping us to continue to directly help rescues, shelters and animals in need, as well as their caregivers.
