BY EMERA THORNTON

The question we hear most often (besides “How do you not take them all home?”) is “How can I help?” While our most immediate need is monetary donations, there are so many other ways for our amazing community to help Harmony grow and thrive. Whether you are in a position to financially support us, or you are only able to give time and love, we appreciate it all!

Financial Giving : It’s no secret that these are a non-profit’s bread and butter. Danielle touched a little on it last week; the money we receive from adoption fees essentially only pays for the next pup’s veterinary care, so we have to look elsewhere for the funds to build, maintain, and run the rescue. We currently have a handful of monthly donors which we LOVE, and the occasional one-time donations have been slowly adding up in the savings account. These funds are all ear-marked to build the facility, but we have a long way to go so we need your help! We have a PayPal account linked to our website and social media and it’s unbelievably easy to donate online. You can even start your own fundraiser for us on Facebook or GoFundMe, and get your friends and family excited about the cause, too! All donations are tax deductible and we are happy to provide documentation for you. Whether you are able to donate a little every month, a lot all at once, or a few dollars here and there, EVERY PENNY COUNTS! And we mean that. Once the “small” donations start rolling in, they snowball into one glorious chunk of money that will save so many lives.

Material Donations : An average of 10 dogs at a time (triple that after the Harmony facility is finished) go through A LOT of food, dirty a lot of blankets, and wear out a lot of beds. Donations of any of these are always appreciated and save us a ton of money at the pet store. Even used collars, open treats, and pre-loved toys are a huge hit with our homeless pups. We also have wish lists on both Amazon and Kuranda (rescuebeds.org) websites, so that you can quickly and easily send the dogs much needed supplies in the mail.

Volunteering Time and Skills : This is going to start becoming more and more imperative to our success, especially once we break ground on the new facility. If you have any skills or practice a trade that you feel would benefit us, we want to hear from you! We will need LOTS of hands on help with building process for those of you in construction, plumbing, flooring, landscaping… The more labor and material that is donated or discounted, the faster we can build, and the more time and money we can spend on saving lives! We also would love help for events- volunteers to lend a hand with Paw-Pup dinners, yard sales, galas, adoption events, food drives, and so many more fundraisers that we have planned. In the meantime, there are some wonderful dogs who would love walks around our neighborhood, outings to the park or for a hike, or a little extra TLC snuggling up on your couch for a sleepover. We have our Harmony room stocked up with books for the kiddos to read to the dogs, and a cozy sitting room if the weather isn’t cooperating.

Community Giving Programs : Wanna know something SO RAD? Both nationally and in our own awesome backyard, there is a wealth (pun intended) of companies and programs who use their profits to give back to charities by engaging the community. These programs are personally my favorite new discovery we’ve made since starting the rescue. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that we have such a growing community of companies both big and small that want to use what they’ve built to help make a difference in our world. These are just a few of my favorites:

Amazon Smile : Do you shop with Amazon? Visit smile.amazon.com and choose Harmony Animal Matchmaker and Sanctuary as your charity of choice, and Amazon will donate 0.5% of what you spend to us. Just make sure to checkout from the smile.amazon.com page. Happy shopping!

City Market : Use a City Market or Kroger card? Head over to the City Market website, log in or register with your club card, and click on the Community Rewards Program at the bottom of the page. Choose Harmony Animal Matchmaker and Sanctuary as your preferred non-profit, and we will receive a portion of your total every time you buy groceries!

Walk For a Dog : Heading out to walk your pup? Going for a bike ride or run? Hiking all summer? Download the Walk For a Dog app (or Wooftrax, depending on your device), choose Harmony Animal Matchmaker and Sanctuary from the list and get moving! All you have to do is get outside and travel at least ¼ mile per week to stay “active”. We receive donations based on our number of active walkers and the collective distance. Motivation much?! Bring on the beautiful weather!

Peachstreet Distillery : How does this sound? Enjoy a delicious specialty cocktail in an active distillery, while listening to a killer band, and know that a portion of your spending is going to your favorite charity? Peachstreet is awesome enough to choose a different non-profit every month; every Thursday they donate a portion of proceeds, as well as actively collecting donations throughout the month. We are grateful to be chosen a second time for June and we hope to see everyone there!

Bark’s Play and Stay : (hey, I know those guys!) Not only does our for-profit sister company donate the boarding rooms that the Harmony dogs are currently being housed in, but Bark’s will also donate 10% of grooming profits to Harmony. Your pup gets pampered and polished AND it benefits his homeless buddies? Yes please!

These are just a few of the things you can do to help right now. We have LOTS of events and community programs in the works, and we are so excited to announce them as they take shape. This list will grow and change as we do, and we can’t wait to have you all with us for that journey. Thank You!