We’ve all seen the commercials for the ASPCA. We’ve all heard horror stories of pets in need, whether they’ve been neglected, mistreated, or just left to fend for themselves. There are many ways to help fight the mistreatment of animals, one Georgia group is using education to help kids learn about how to properly treat animals at an early stage; this group is the Georgia Center for Humane Education (GCHE).
The GCHE works to bring a variety of complimentary Humane Education Programs (HEP) to schools and groups. Hundreds of children with the Metro Atlanta area have participated in these programs to learn more about how to respect life in their homes, communities, and environment. The programs help to “encourage kindness and empathy for both human and nonhuman animals, and to promote understanding of our many diverse habitats.” The GCHE is working to get more of the HEP programs into schools and to revisit the schools that they have already been to; they’ve already increased their staff to accommodate these new goals.
The Georgia Center for Humane Education doesn’t stop with schools; they’re also involved in other initiatives to spread education on the humane treatment of animals. They are partner of the statewide campaign “Don’t Be Cruel”, created by two Georgia rescue groups and sanctioned by Elvis Presley Enterprises, which spreads awareness of the human treatment of animals through posters, bookmarks, T-shirts and an educational brochure – all bearing the image of Elvis with his hound dog. The group also works with other national animal protection organizations and organizations devoted to character education to achieve their goals.
Deceased Pet Care is one of many sponsors that work to support this organization. GCHE just celebrated their third anniversary as a 501c3 non-profit organization, and, depends a great deal upon the sponsorship of donations of others to continue to spread the word and their educational programs through the state. The program gathers funds through fund-raisers, including two “Marketplace” events, donations from various supporting businesses, such as Deceased Pet Care, and donations from individuals. If you’d like to, you can join us in supporting them by donating via their website.
This month, what are you doing to work to prevent the mistreatment of and cruelty to animals? Are there any specific groups that you like to work with to achieve these goals? Tell us your thoughts and favorite organizations in a comment on our Facebook page.
