Starting on Nov. 27 and ending on Dec. 1, ASB hosted a charity drive at UHS. For a week, they collected items to donate to Orange County Animal Care, an animal shelter based in Tustin. To encourage students to donate, there was a competition for which class could donate the most, which the freshmen won.
It can be easy to get caught up in the spirit of competition and overlook the planning that goes into organizing such an event. Seniors Abby Weiland and Jesse Niedwick, the ASB Service Commissioners, spent time organizing the event to make sure that OC Animal Care got donations for the holidays.
“Jesse and I reached out to coordinate a date for the drive with OC Animal Care,” Weiland said. “Our goal was to help keep the animals warm during the winter season.”
UHS has donated to other organizations in the past through other charity drives. However, this is the first year that ASB has chosen to donate to OC Animal Care.
“We collected gently used and new blankets and towels,” Niedwick said. “In the past, we have collected canned food, shoes and toys, but Abby and I were looking to do something new, hence the blanket and towel drive.”
When deciding where to donate, the Service Commissioners considered a few things to make sure that donations were given to an organization that would utilize the donations best. The size of the organization, along with past experiences with it, was the ultimate reason that they decided on OC Animal Care.
“OC Animal Care is one of the larger rescues in the county and many friends and family have found pets and given them their home through this shelter,” Niedwick said.
After coordinating the dates for the charity drive with OC Animal Care, Weiland and Niedwick planned the part of the drive that would take place on the UHS Campus.
“We needed to coordinate with our advisors and the custodial staff to set up the donation bins outside the SAC,” Niedwick said.
On top of the physical aspect of setting up the donation bins and organizing the drive itself, there needed to be a way to let students know about the drive.
“We also coordinated with the ASB Pubs [Publicity Coordinators] and SAC [Student Activities Coordinator] to effectively inform the rest of the student body about the drive,” Weiland said. “We’ll drop off all the donations once we have sorted and counted the towels and blankets.”
On top of adoptions, OC Animal Care provides a wide range of other services, including rescuing animals, making sure lost pets are reunited with their owners and bringing in stray animals in the 14 cities it services. Donations like the ones from UHS are used by OC Animal Care to create the best possible environment for them.
“Donations help to keep them cozy; beds, blankets, and stuff like that,” a customer service representative at OC Animal Care Zane Wu said. “Our volunteers try their best to see what’s usable; if it’s in good condition, then they’ll give it to the animals.”
OC Animal Care does its best to take care of the animals there until they are adopted.
“We try our best to make their life a little bit more comfortable here; we want to give them the best environment possible, but it’s not the greatest,” Wu said. “They’d rather be in a home. What helps is like having beds, blankets, toys, whatever, just to make it a little bit easier for them.”
Usually around the holidays, OC Animal Care receives donations from drives similar to the one at UHS, but also from individuals. Wu also expressed OC Animal Care’s appreciation for the donations they receive, including the donations students gave at the charity drive.
“We are very appreciative of everything that is brought in and everything is used,” Wu said. “We also have an Amazon Wishlist online that you can find on our website which gives a good idea for people to know what they can donate.”
Weiland showed her appreciation for the staff who helped to organize the charity drive. Niedwick hopes that through the charity drive, students will feel like they’re making a difference in their community.
“I hope that we showed UNI that there’s more to donating than getting rid of old things,” Niedwick said. “There is a real difference being made and it is all in part to everyone’s help!”
More information about donating to OC Animal Care can be found here: https://www.ocpetinfo.com/get-involved/donate
