Be the Change.

Welcome to my first Blog the Change for Animals post.

Since starting The Other Winnie Cooper in September of 2010, I have been blogging about animal issues close to my heart. I have posted about a shelter in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont that is helping to foster and care for 20+ cats that were abandoned by a hoarder. On National Pit Bull Awareness Day I blogged about Sharona, my pit bull, and all the challenges that come with the misperceptions of owning this controversial dog type (I called it Sharonapalooza, read those posts only if you want to meet the best dog ever!). For Winnie's birthday, we asked you (dear readers) to help us donate dog and cat food to our local food shelf. I have mentioned/advocated for my local animal shelter, The Humane Society of Chittenden County on many occasions (like, here, here, oh and here).

So, what oh what should I write about for the Blog the Change for Animals event?

Today would have been the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.'s 81st birthday. This weekend is a holiday and a three day weekend for many people in the U.S. because this great man stood for what he believed in and inspired many others to do the same. A famous quote from Martin Luther King Jr. says that, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?"

The words and life of Martin Luther King Jr. resonated with me from an early age. I was born in the mid- seventies, many years after the Civil Rights era in the U.S., and I grew up in the 1980's which is not a decade known for its altruism and spirit of giving. Yet, somehow the 1950's and 1960's have always been fascinating and inspiring era to me, and Reverend King's message about doing for others is at the heart of this blog post.

One of the things I have been able to do for others (in this case, the animals, of course) is to raise money and awareness of their needs. Well, this weekend also happens to be my birthday too! For my birthday, I asked my friends and family to help me raise money for the Humane Society of Chittenden County. Honestly, I think my closest friends and family probably think, "Here she goes AGAIN with the raising money for animals!" and many haven't or won't donate because they think it's just another one of my many fund-raising ploys. It is, but it is also one of the events throughout the year that brings me great joy. I love that the day of my birth can bring food, shelter and eventually forever homes for animals that cannot live on their own, do not have a voice and need us, their human caretakers to help give them the best life possible. Ultimately the change I am blogging for today is the prevention of animal suffering (in my neck of the woods at least).

Every little bit helps, and I will continue to hound (natch!) my friends, coworkers, family and complete strangers (hey, that's you!) to donate and help animals. If you are interested in making a thirty-something woman's (gulp!) young girl's birthday wish come true, go here. Donate. Be the change.

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thoughts? Comments? Opinions? Yes, please!