Kindness counts
Published Wednesday February 10th, 2010
The Kindness Club may have celebrated 50 years last year, but its message of "Be kind" is as relevant today as it was when it began.
"Our goal for our 50th anniversary was to raise enough money to assist with 50 spay/neuter dog operations in the Fredericton and surrounding area," says Shelley Dow, executive director of Kindness Club Inc.
To do that, and to raise awareness about the non-profit organization, they held various fundraisers throughout the year.
Volunteers and staff took part in Canada Day on the Green, sold doggy treats and people treats at the community booth in Regent Mall and held a yard sale in the fall.
During 2009, they were able to raise more than $4,000, says Dow, and though they didn't reach their goal to spay/neuter 50 dogs, they are pleased with the number they were able to help.
"We hope we always have the resources to help somebody," says Dow.
The Kindness Club is a registered charity dedicated to humane and environmental education of children and adults. It was founded in 1959 by Aida Flemming of Fredericton. The main goal of the club is to teach kindness towards animals and people, and respect for the environment.
The work they do is even more important today than it was when the club first began, says Dow.
"I agree, especially since the organization started small. Even though we are small, we're not only reaching people in New Brunswick now, we're reaching people across Canada and some even in the U.S.," says Sharon Jones-Gilmore, president of the Kindness Club board.
The organization works a bit differently now than when it started, notes Dow.
"Before we could have community groups where a parent could even start a group with five kids, you can't do that nowadays. We rely a lot on the teachers and the schools to help us as well," she says.
To facilitate that connection, the Kindness Club has developed The Animal Ambassadors, a program featuring different topics that can be presented in the community or in classrooms to work with the school curriculum. "We do have specific topics we can deliver, but we can also customize topics to any particular lesson that the teachers are covering at that time," says Dow.
The more popular topics are on dog bite prevention and proper pet care, which are available for all ages.
"We still have to educate people," says Jones-Gilmore. "Not everyone knows."
On top of the Animal Ambassadors presentations, the Kindness Club offers the Liaison Teachers' program and produces education publications that it distributes. Some of their recent publications include The Pitfalls of Puppy Mills and Animal Abuse and Domestic Violence: A resource guide to breaking the cycle.
The other programs it supports are the Spay and Neuter Assistance Program (S.N.A.P.), which provides financial assistance to low-income families to help fund the costs associated with spaying or neutering the family dog, and the Pet Food Bank program, designed to help those in need feed their pets.
Jones-Gilmore says that one of the big things she wants to get across is that the Kindness Club isn't just for kids.
"We have a lot of great adult education, we do work on the violence link - the link between domestic abuse and animal violence," she says. "I think sometimes people associate the Kindness Club with kids. We do a lot of work with kids, that's the big population we work with, but we do a lot with adults as well."
Though the organization has been around for 50 years, there is still more work to be done, says Jones-Gilmore, adding that they hope to be here for another 50 years.
"We are working towards doing more and each year we expand a bit in different areas, all related to animal welfare," says Dow.
For example, the Kindness Club has joined forces with other animal welfare groups in the area to form an animal welfare coalition.
The group brings together the Fredericton SPCA, Oromocto SPCA, New Brunswick SPCA, Kindness Club, CA-R-MA and the Chickadee Cat Club.
"We've agreed to get together and share resources and just get ourselves out there as a working group," she says.
The coalition is holding an Animal Welfare Bowl-a-thon on Sunday, Feb. 21, from 2-4 p.m. at Kingswood. All money raised will be divided between the six organizations. People are invited to create a team, sponsor a lane, pledge their support to a bowler or come out and cheer on teams that day. For more information, call 459-1555.
They've come together, says Dow, to not only raise funds but to raise awareness. "I think there is awareness in numbers," says Jones-Gilmore.
"And I think if the community sees all of us working together, too, it's going to help," says Dow.
To learn more about the Kindness Club and its programs, visit www.kindnessclub.nb.ca or call 459-3379.
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