Los Angeles Brigade The L.A. Brigade is a model
of success
How the Best Friends
Brigades Got Started
Understanding the challenges
most shelters and rescue groups
face led Francis and Silva Battista
to launch the first Best Friends
Brigade in Los Angeles back in
1997.
The first brigade project was to
help an old and respected rescue
group. They were facing the El
Niņo winter with a roof badly in
need of repair. So, brigade
members fixed the roof to keep
the elements out during the wet
winter ahead.
The next project was to lend a
hand when a local shelter was
facing eviction, putting 50 dogs at
risk. The Best Friends Pet
Adoption Festival was just
coming up, so brigade
members went out to bathe and
groom as many of the dogs as
possible and bring them to the
adoption festival. All the pooches
were placed in good homes.
Best Friends Brigades
The solutions to the problem of homeless dogs and cats are right there in your own community, and you can be a part of making it all happen!
Maybe you'd like to help, but you are not sure which group to join or you don't want to commit to just one. Maybe you're ready to take on a serious project. You may even have contemplated starting your own humane group.
If you have been thinking about getting involved or wondering what you can do to help the animals, launching a Best Friends Brigade may be just the thing for you.
Animals have many friends in any community, and while many people want to help, they need an easy way to get involved, something that fits into already busy schedules. By starting a Best Friends Brigade in your community, you can create opportunities for many more people to get involved in helping, too.
Brigade projects are satisfying because the team members complete a significant project, from beginning to end, one that really makes a difference. And there is nothing quite like the feeling of knowing you've helped to make the world a better place!
About Best Friends Brigades
What is a Best Friends Brigade?
A Best Friends Brigade is a team of people working to help animals in their own community on a project-by-project basis.
The brigade volunteers get together in teams and tackle specific projects. Over time, they typically help different groups and shelters with a variety of projects, depending upon the interests, talents, and availability of the team members.
The projects can range from construction work, to cleanup days, to creating promotional materials and programs for pet adoptions, to getting needed things donated, to organizing an event.
The duration of the projects varies, too. Some may be one-day projects, while others may take a few weeks to complete.
Is starting or joining a brigade right for you?
To help determine the right level of involvement for you, we've provided a few simple questions for you to answer:
- Are you a natural organizer or leader?
- Do you have energy and drive?
- Do you enjoy working with people?
- Would you enjoy the satisfaction of taking on and completing a project?
- Are you interested in filling an important niche in the humane community by offering support to existing shelters and programs?
- Can you make a commitment of time - a minimum of six hours a week for at least six months (preferably longer) - to coordinate projects?
If you can answer an unqualified "yes!" to each of these questions, then starting a Best Friends Brigade in your community may be right for you. Even if you answered "no" to any of these questions, you still might want to participate by joining a local Best Friends Brigade. Consider these questions:
- Do you have some time to give, but you cannot commit to a large, ongoing project?
- Do you have a special skill or interest that you'd like to put to work helping the animals? It could be that you love carpentry or organizing things, have a special skill related to animals (such as grooming or training), have a hobby that could help the animals (such as sewing, gardening, or creative talents), or have office skills, legal expertise, or computer skills to contribute.
If you answered "yes" to these two questions, joining a brigade might be just the ticket for you.
Want to know more? These stories about brigades already in action are sure to inspire you! Click here to visit Best Friends Brigades
To see is there is already a Best Friends Brigade in your community, visit our Best Friends Network page and click on the region of the country where you live. In addition to seeing if there is a brigade already in your neighborhood, you will get a list of No More Homeless Pets programs in your area.
Thank YOU!
Thanks so much for your interest in starting a brigade in your community! It's a terrific way to leverage your talents to bring even more people together to make a difference.
