It’s that time of year full of new beginnings, resolutions, and good intentions. As an animal lover, you may have decided that this year you want to contribute to a local animal shelter. Most may think of contributions and donations as monetary gift, however not everyone is able or wanting to just donate money. If you fit that category, but aren’t sure what else you could do, a few suggestions are provided here. As the individual needs of every shelter varies, it’s important to make sure you contact the selected shelter first to see how you may be able to best donate to them.

Time – Most people don’t always realize that time is a great donation for many animal shelters. If you are an animal enthusiast, you may be able to volunteer your time to walk or play with the animals, help bath or clean up after them. Volunteering time provides many shelters with the opportunity to get much needed things done without having to hire someone to help do it. Your time not only helps save money for the shelter, but also provides animals with much needed attention.

Publicity – Most shelters are constructed and run with the animal’s well-being as the most important part of how decisions are made. It is because of that, that most money is spent going right back into meeting those needs. Because of this, the shelters don’t always have an excess of money to spend on promoting their shelter or its’ needs. If you have the ability to provide some free publicity for the shelter, whether it be on a website, billboard, local newspaper or magazine, most shelters would appreciate it.

Food or Nutritional Donations – Another great way to donate is to help provide food or treats for the shelter. Many shelters are specific as to which type of these they provide to their animals so make sure you check with them in advance.

Fostering or Adopting – If you are an animal lover and have the ability to be a foster home until a pet can find their forever home, that may be a huge benefit for a shelter. Although not all shelters look for foster homes, those that do are always looking for good families to nurture the animals until they are able to find their permanent home. Looking for a new pet? Adopting from a local shelter can also be a way to give back. Many shelters look for solid, caring, loving homes to adopt their pets and by adopting one, you will be helping the shelter meet that goal. If you do choose to adopt a pet, make sure you provide them with a healthy diet and plenty of exercise.