Some community members may feel unable to donate financially to our cause, but are interested in using their valuable, specialized skills to create comfort items or build for our animals. We gratefully welcome such contributions, as long as they meet our safety standards!
For our donors familiar with woodworking, our team is happy to speak more about projects regarding our facility or enrichment activities for our animals. Donors more familiar with textiles such as sewists, quilters, knitters, or crocheters can review our list of approved patterns to adhere to our safety needs and sizing guidelines.
Textile craft patterns that meet our shelter’s specifications:
- Easy peasy Kennel Quilts (please make ours in dimensions of 27 inches by 27 inches)
- Stylish dog bandanas
- Upcycled Sweaters for cats and small dogs
- Kitten Sweaters like this one or this crocheted one to prevent sibling nursing (another knitted version is here!)
- Kennel Front Covers (check in with our team about measurements/specs for these!)
- Knitted / Crocheted cat beds (Please refrain from using wool/chenille yarn. Washable, sturdy cotton or acrylic only!)
- Super snuggly dog beds
Additional Note: Please refrain from bringing us items with buttons on them or handmade toys! Although it is very kind of you to make those, they are very hard to sanitize and unfortunately run a high risk of being thrown away for the sake of hygiene. Also, please avoid bringing in yarn-tied kennel quilts due to the risk of animals ingesting parts of the ties, or stuffed animals with hard eyes as they can easily be chewed off.
In times of severe need, many shelters reach out to organizations that provide handmade items for shelter pets. Journey Home Animal Care Center has previously benefitted from the online community associated with Kennel Quilts, an organization specializing in crowdsourcing handmade mats for cat kennels or travel carriers. Kennel quilts were also donated by subscribers of The Quilt Pattern Magazine. We encourage our community to contribute to those organizations as well if they have the additional time and resources! Such organizations provide many patterns or recommendations that may help you on your crafting for shelter pets journey!
Do you make things that would not be ideal for our animals to use, such as jewelry, furniture, beautiful wall art, or quilts sized for humans? Consider donating to Journey Home Animal Care Center’s annual Silent Auction as part of Laugh Your Tail off! Contact Heather@jhacc.org with questions or to sign up with an item or service as part of our silent auction.
SOURCES:
https://dogwoodanimalhospital.com/crafts-you-can-make-for-your-local-shelter-pets/
https://humaneanimalrescue.org/10-ways-to-craft-for-your-local-shelter-on-july-21/
https://www.sheltermedicine.com/library/resources/how-to-make-partial-cage-covers-aka-curtailments
