Save The Animals Foundation, Inc.
An All Volunteer Staff
by Dee Fell, Trustee

Save The Animals Foundation, Inc. is a Gloucester County, NJ-based, non-profit, all volunteer group, dedicated to:

• Reducing the number of unwanted animals by advocating and providing financial assistance for spay/neuter.
• Finding permanent, loving homes for companion animals. Providing financial assistance for medical care of needy animals.
• Educating the public to promote humane care of companion animals and respect for all living creatures.

Save The Animals Foundation is successful because our hard-working Board of Directors (made up mostly of women and a few good men) realize that the animals come first. In all of our meetings, for all of our projects, regardless of individual differences of opinion, we always return to that one basic fact. The animals come first. They are the reason that we exist, and everything we do is done for their benefit.

The money needed to achieve these goals and others is acquired by holding fundraising events throughout the year, placing donation jars at various locations in and around the area, soliciting corporate sponsors, writing grant proposals and seeking contributions from the public.

Our volunteers come from all walks of life and serve many functions. Some work on our newsletter, some coordinate events, some provide humane education to the public, and some do hands-on work with cats and dogs. All are necessary to fulfill our purpose. STAF is really proud of our accomplishments. As you can see from our statistics, we’ve done a great job of spaying and neutering lots of cats and dogs (and even a couple of bunnies). As of the end of July 2010, we have spayed/neutered 239 cats, 111 dogs and 4 bunnies. Our board is small, but very dedicated.

Why do we do it? Many reasons! Obviously, we care deeply about animals and want to make their lives better. But we’re not just a bunch of self-sacrificing do-gooders (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). Our work brings us a lot of satisfaction, and most if it is a lot of fun! We get to work with people who share our goals, and we’ve developed some deep and lasting friendships and alliances. STAF has come a long way since its inception, and we continue to grow. We sincerely hope that we will be able to continue to make a positive difference in the animal community for many years to come.

Our next big fundraiser is our Paws in the Park Dog Walk on October 16, 2010 at Fasola Park in Deptford, NJ. Unfortunately last year we were rained out but we are hoping the weather holds up for us this year. We’ve expanded the Walk to include cats, ferrets and other family pets, not just dogs. The catch is that instead of bringing your cat or other pet we ask that the participant bring a picture of their pet and walk in Honor of or Memory of their pet. There is a registration fee of $10 per human walker, pets are free.  We will have contests, prizes, vendors and various other non-profit animal groups in attendance. 

We also hold monthly Spay Days in different locations.  Have your cat spayed or neutered by a licensed veterinarian on the Animal Welfare Assocation (AWA) mobile surgical unit.  STAF works in partnership with AWA to help provide low cost spay/neuter programs.

Please visit our website http://www.stafnj.org/ for upcoming events and information about our low cost spay/neuter programs.