Have you seen the almost painfully cute (though born of mishap) story this week about the koalas that were injured in wildfires and the International Fund for Animal Welfare rescue organization sent out a call for volunteers to sew mittens for the burn-surviving koalas to speed their healing? I love the outpouring of tiny paw coverings that were sent in almost immediately to help keep medicinal salve on those tiny marsupial toes (with some monstrous claws–I’ve held baby koalas before, they’ve got some fierce nails!)
Pair this with the previous volunteer call for knitters who could make sweaters for penguins, and the chances to help injured and ill animals in crazy cute ways are almost too much to bear…and I love that there is never a shortage of people leaping to the task!
Well, those calls for charitable crafters are fully met and there is no longer need…but here are a couple of other ways you can be creative for animals with volunteer craft projects (I’m sort of miserable at many craft projects, but these would be great fun for more talented volunteers):
Animal Rights Action has an entire page devoted to sewing for animal charities, from patters for different sized dog sweaters to blankets and beds for stray and shelter dogs around the world.
All Natural Pet Care has patterns for knitting and crocheting projects for animal shelters.
Animal Humane Society has a need for craft projects for the animals, from blankets and homemade toys to heating pads for shuttler animals recovering from surgery.
The Anti-Cruelty Society has an entire webpage dedicated to do-it-yourself craft donations for shelter pets.
Quilts to the Rescue is a charitable project that sells and auctions quilts to raise funds for animal rescue with special focus on senior and hard-to-place animals.
Change by Doing 