Build bonds with family and your friends at PAWS Chicago! With a parent or guardian, children over 12 years of age can work and participate on behalf of homeless pets.
In addition to the family services program, we have the following activities you can become involved with that help the animals in our adoption program:
Wish List Donation Drive
Gather a group of friends to help you collect items or develop a group/classroom challenge to see who can collect the most items!! When you bring in the donated items to the Admissions and Recovery Center, PAWS Chicago will give you a tour of our facility and introduce you to some of our adoptable dogs and cats.
Group challenge: Assemble groups or classrooms to compete to see who can collect the most donated items from our wish list.
PAWS Chicago is in need of items from our Wish List to help care for the dogs and cats in our Adoption Program as well as to help with administrative tasks that help us place dogs and cats in loving, caring homes.
- Items for Dogs
- Kong brand toys
- Rawhides
- Leashes
- Collars
- Dog bowls
- Dog treats
- Dog beds
- Science Diet dog/puppy food
- Dog crates and plastic carriers
- Dog brushes
- Items for Cats
- Cat toys
- Wellness brand canned cat food
- Science Diet brand dry cat food
- Litter boxes (aluminum disposable trays)
- Cat litter
- Plastic cat carriers
- Cat brushes
- General Items
- 30 gallon garbage bags
- Newspapers
- Clean, new or used towels and blankets
- Mop heads
- PETCO gift cards
- Small paper plates
- Liquid laundry detergent
- Hand soap
- Rubber cleaning gloves
- Paper towels
- Cleaning sprays (409 or similar brands)
A more specific list of Wish List items is located here
Adopt a Classroom!
The Adopt-a-Classroom program is a unique opportunity for those who want to vitalize humane education in their communities. Through this program, interested students/classes provide another elementary-school class with an award winning newspaper that incorporates humane lessons into articles and activities across the curriculum. KIND News is a classroom newspaper for children in grades K-6, published by the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education (NAHEE),youth education division of The Humane Society of the United States. It features puzzles, projects, stories ,and celebrity interviews that teach children the importance of treating people, animals, and the environment with kindness and respect.
Your participation in the Adopt a- Classroom program provides a teacher and his or her students with a one-year gift subscription to KIND (Kids In Nature’s Defense) News, which includes 9 monthly issues, September through May. Each issue comes with a teacher’s guide and 32 copies of the newspaper. That way, all students in a class get their own copy of KIND News every month to read and take home. Free with every subscription is a copy of KIND Teacher, an annual resource book featuring reproducible worksheets, KIND ID cards for students, a classroom poster, and a calendar of historical trivia, fun facts, and tips on helping animals and the environment. In addition, you and your adopted teachers will have access to the Teacher Zone at KIND News Online. There, you’ll find reproducible worksheets and lesson plans on responsible pet care, as well as Spanish translations of KIND News text.
Dog/Cat Adoption Gift Baskets
Help us send our dogs and cats into wonderful homes with a starter kit of toys, treats, and supplies of their very own! This is a fun and exciting activity for school groups, girl scout/boy scout troops, or the whole family.
Collect donations or gift cards from local pet supply stores such as PETCO . Purchase new toys, treats, and supplies to assemble into gift baskets.
Run for Their Lives
Help raise awareness about homeless pets by registering to participate in the annual Run for Their Lives 4k walk/8k Run. This event occurs in early October.
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Sign-up yourself and your parent or guardian to volunteer during the annual Run for Their Lives event.
Other animal welfare related opportunities
Visit American Humane for more idea’s on how you can be more involved in animal welfare.
