Dogs and Girl Scouts and Volunteering, Revisited

Bright and early on a beautiful fall Saturday, the Girl Scouts and I headed to the Brewster Animal Shelter, where we sorted through 25 large bags of donations.... folding and sorting and tossing what was inappropriate. Like sheer curtains. And raggedy dish towels...

What was good we sorted into large laundry hampers, labeled them and stacked them in the storage garage for easier access by the shelter volunteers.

In three hours, the girls sorted and folded:
- 5 bins of pillowcases
- 9 bins of hand towels
- 3 bins of washcloths
- 1 bin of full towels and sheets (2 separate piles)
and
- 1 very large rubbermaid full of blankets

The sad part of it all is that the shelter doesn't have adequate laundry facilities and must dispose of the towels once they become too soiled. So even though it seems like a lot - and trust me, it seemed like a LOT - they'll go through it all and still need more. Especially more blankets, once winter rolls around.

Next week we start the next phase of this project, and place our collection boxes around town to get more donations for this shelter. Most of you probably don't live close enough to donate to our cause, but if you're cleaning out a closet or cedar chest, or find a pile of old sheets on a shelf, think about dropping them off at your local animal shelter. The items will get a second life, and you'll be helping animals in need stay warm this winter.