2020 Year in Review 🎉
Last year was a challenging year for everyone, but like so many other organizations, Henrico Humane Society was able to get creative and adapt its operations to accomplish great things. We want to share our top highlights from 2020 with the people who make our organization possible - YOU!
Adoptions 🐱🐶
Due to the pandemic we had to quickly pivot to a virtual adoption stand, which meant transitioning to online forms as well as creating new processes to screen applicants and conduct “meet and greets.” Even with all the COVID restrictions we found permanent, loving homes for 205 dogs and cats! For reference, in 2019 (a pandemic-free year), we adopted out 222 animals. All things considered, we are thrilled with our 2020 adoption numbers.
We were able to save so many animals during the pandemic largely due to an increase in fosters. Thanks to the new volunteers who used the stay-at-home order as an opportunity to rescue homeless animals, and to all of our long-term fosters who adapted to new ways to adopt without a weekly stand.
If you’re interested in supporting our rescue efforts by becoming a foster, please complete an application. If you’re interested in adopting a pet, check out our available dogs and cats online.
Fundraisers and Donations 💸
For the first time in 20 years we weren’t able to hold Pet Expo, so we got creative and held two new fundraisers.
Volunteers raised over $2,000 at a socially distanced Sidewalk Sale, and lots of people walked away with amazing deals on pet-related merchandise.
"Until They All Have A Home" was a fun and successful t-shirt fundraiser which raised over $2,000 while also helping get our name out in the community.
We raised a record-breaking $31,000 through our Cash for Cats and Dollars for Dogs campaign! A big shout out goes to Jane Carter at Colonial Veterinary Hospital and their clients for contributing so generously to these campaigns.
Our donor community stepped up to help homeless animals, and we are extremely grateful to have received over $15,000 more in donations than in 2019.
Some folks came up with creative ways to support HHS, like Ashley, a Henrico Humane adopter who celebrated her dog Ella’s 15th birthday by asking for donations to Henrico Humane Society instead of gifts. She raised over $800 for senior pups at HHS! Another example is Charlie, an animal-loving high school student who organized a donation drive at his church resulting in carloads full of pet supplies for Henrico Humane!
We would not have been able to rescue as many animals as we did without the generous support of so many people. We are so thankful. Visit our website to learn about ways you can help Henrico Humane Society.
If you’re interested in supporting our rescue efforts by becoming a foster, please complete an application. If you’re interested in adopting a pet, check out our available dogs and cats online.
Community ❤️🤝
We established a COVID Relief Fund and raised over $16,500 which allowed us to help 12 pets in our community. The fund assists people who were financially impacted by COVID to cover emergency medical expenses for their pets. Here are a few of the animals we were able to help.
We provided financial assistance to spay and neuter 203 pets in the community through our Spay RVA program. We’re not currently taking new applications since many of the clinics we partner with have limited availability, but we hope to restart the program soon.
Volunteers 💪😷
We haven’t been able to interact with our volunteers as much as we would like during the pandemic, but we’ve tried to keep everybody engaged through newsletters and social media. We even ordered HHS-branded masks so everyone could continue to show their support while protecting themselves from COVID! Volunteers should contact Dena if they haven’t already received one (while supplies last).
While we’re always looking for fosters, there are lots of other ways you can take advantage of time spent at home to volunteer for HHS. Visit our website for more information and to complete an application.
Looking Forward
We’re excited for the year ahead and will continue to look for new and creative ways to carry out our mission to help animals in need.
We’ll celebrate our 30th Anniversary in 2021 and will be digging through our archives to share memories of how we’ve helped homeless animals throughout Central Virginia since 1991!
Look for more information this fall on the 21st Annual Pet Expo which will be held on January 29, 2022.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep updated on our activities, and please share our posts with all of your friends - you don’t have to be in Central Virginia to support animal rescue efforts!
