Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeannine Huck and Stacy Gaskins.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jeannine and Stacy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The National Animal Welfare Society of the US, now known as NAWS Humane Society of Illinois, is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization that was founded in 2007 when a small group of women joined forces to come up with a way to make a difference in the lives of homeless pets. They were frustrated by the activities of the general sheltering world and wanted to provide homeless pets with a better opportunity for a comfortable and loving future. This included an ultimate dream of creating a sanctuary where homeless pets could stay until they found a forever home, or live out their lives.
After much planning and discussion, the following mission statement was created:
The Mission of NAWS is to end pet homelessness, suffering, and unnecessary pet euthanasia – to serve pets in need -and to promote treating all animals with respect and dignity. We do this by – Changing the face of animal welfare and elevating the status of pets in our lives and society.
This mission has been our guiding light since our inception. We began by focusing on opening a spay/neuter clinic in December 2007. We felt that spay/neuter, as well as pet rescue, would allow us to address our mission at the core. Working with rural, high-kill and/or overpopulated shelters, we were able to bring pets in into our rescue program who had a great likelihood of facing euthanasia. Offering affordable spay/neuter services to animal welfare organizations as well as the public would help eliminate the high number of unwanted litters born each year, ultimately helping to reduce the number of homeless pets.
Right after our clinic was opened in 2007, our country experienced a great recession. We quickly noticed the need for affordable veterinary care for the pets of the families in the community, so we adjusted our efforts at our clinic to include affordable basic veterinary care. We recognized that families giving up their pets because they could no longer afford them would not only add to the problem of pet homelessness and unnecessary euthanasia, but would also create needless suffering the pets and their people.
Once the economy began to stabilize, we were able to take the next step in our growth. In September 2012, we moved into a new, larger facility just blocks away from our original clinic. The facility, known as the NAWS Campus, helped us to bring pet rescue and medical services together under one roof, and provides us with additional space to focus on the growth and development of our pet rescue program. Also, our medical clinic has expanded beyond basic veterinary care to general veterinary services. In addition our services have grown to include pet boarding, doggy day camp and a resale area.
As we continue to grow, we have also been able to take additional steps to support our mission. One of these steps, which we pride ourselves on, is a focus on rescuing pets in need of medical care. With the help of our donors, we’ve been able to rescue and treat animals with conditions such as heartworm, skin conditions, congenital defects, and even cancer. Because many shelters don’t have the resources to help pets with medical issues become healthy enough for adoption, our efforts take rescue a step further by helping animals requiring medical care. Once a pet is adopted, they automatically become a lifetime member of the NAWS Alumni Club. The purpose of the club is to provide a home away from home with an extended family for the rest of our pets’ lives. Once a rescue pet is accepted into our program, they are a member of our NAWS family forever.
Today, we continue to focus on growing our pet rescue capabilities to be able to help even more pets in need. In addition, we are proud to continue our operations with zero administrative expenses, with 100% of all proceeds from services used to support the needs of the pets in our pet rescue program. That means that when someone brings their pet in for medical services, for example, they are supporting the needs of homeless animals.
In addition to proceeds from our services, NAWS is primarily funded by private donors and limited grants. We struggle at times, and are always grateful for any monetary donations.
Our vision is still to one day be able to open a several acre sanctuary to allow pets that, for whatever reason, are not able to find a forever home or family to live out their lives in peace and comfort, being cared for by animal loving people. This is a lofty but achievable goal that we believe the NAWS organization will one day realize.
Has it been a smooth road?
As with many non-profits, having enough funding is always a struggle. It’s often difficult on everyone involved, but especially our staff, as they truly love the animals and want to provide the best care, which can be challenging when funds are low.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the NAWS Humane Society of IL story. Tell us more about the business.
Our focus on taking homeless pets in need of medical care is what we are most proud of as an organization. Healthy, younger pets usually have the advantage of having a greater likelihood for adoption when they are in a shelter. By helping pets who are slightly older and more calm, and who have medical conditions that we can help to resolve, we are providing them with that extra chance to find a loving forever home.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We believe that pet friendly corporations are beginning to show more support for animal welfare organizations, including making the grant process a little easier to navigate. If they continue down this path, smaller groups may be able to make a greater impact on the pet homelessness and overpopulation crisis.
In addition, social media has helped educate the public more on the pet suffering aspect of animal welfare, such as abuse and puppy mills. A shift from buying pets in stores to saving homeless animals is slowly occurring. Continued education is certainly helpful, but we hope to see a greater focus in this area to enhance public awareness and support.
Pricing:
- Dog Spay/Neuter Packages – includes surgery, nail trim, post op pain medication that goes home with the pet, and e-collar – Package prices range from $128-$205 depending on weight and sex.
- Cat Spay – $75 and includes post-op pain medication that goes home with her.
- Cat Neuter – $60
- Dog Basic Wellness Package $125
- Dog Silver Wellness Package $160
- Dog Platinum Wellness Package $245
- Cat Basic Wellness Package $95
- Cat Platinum Wellness Package $135
- Alumni Hall Suite Rates for Dogs – Alumni Club Members – $20/night; Non-Members (Guests) – $30/night
- Feline Hall Townhouse Suite Rates for our Kitty Friends – Alumni Club Members – $15/night; Non-Members (Guests) – $20 per night
- Doggy Day Camp – Alumni Club Member Full Day (5+ hrs) – $10 or Half Day (5 hrs or less) – $8; Non-Member (Guest) Full Day (5+ hrs) – $12 or Half-Day (5 hrs or less) – $10
Contact Info:
- Address: Stacy Gaskins – Founder and Chairman of the Board
Jeannine Huck – Board President
Kimmy Bandusky – Director
Darlene Kokotan – Director
Wendy Paul – Facility Manager - Website: www.NAWSUS.org
- Phone: 708-478-5102
- Email: info@nawsus.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/naws_humane_society
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/nawsus
- Twitter: twitter.com/NAWSUS
- Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/naws-humane-society-of-illinois-mokena
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