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There are many different ways someone can help GPA-MN, beyond adopting these great dogs and donating money. The gift of time is more often than not, just as valuable. Here are some ways that you can help!!
Fostering
Meet & Greets
Coat Making
Newsletter
Special Events
Gift Wrapping
Fostering
Fostering is the life blood of our organization. Some other chapters and organizations have kennels where they can keep the hounds waiting to be adopted. With GPA-MN, we depend on foster families to house the hounds. Without foster homes for the retired hounds, we can't take them in from the race tracks. Without hounds, we can't adopt them out to their forever families.
Being a foster is not tremendously difficult but there are some requirements to be aware of.
1. You need to be familiar with greyhounds. If you do not have a greyhound currently, we ask that you read one of the excellent books on retired greyhounds to learn about their special requirements.
2. You will be responsible for making vet appointments for their post-track check up. GPA-MN picks up the cost of this appointment and subsequent medical costs while you have the foster in your care. Further details are in the Foster Packet information
3. You are responsible for bringing the hound to meet potential adaptors'.
Since most of our showings are in the Twin Cities, it helps if you are located in the area - although not necessary.
Foster homes are also needed for hounds that are returned by previous owners as well as for older hounds that may require more long-term fostering.
If you are interested in becoming a greyhound foster, you can click on the following link to get further information. fostering@gpa-mn.org
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Meet & Greets
GPA-MN hosts several meet and greets every weekend all around the Twin Cities. Meet and Greets give the public a great chance to see what great pets greyhounds make, give the greyhounds a great chance to socialize, and are a nice way to get together with other greyhound folks. Meet & Greets give people a chance to meet greyhounds in person and ask questions to real greyhound owners and many times, these meetings plant the seed of greyhound adoption in their heads. While there is meet & greets nearly every weekend, even if you could participate in one a month, any and all help is appreciated! Whether you want to team up with a current Meet & Greet host or might know of a new area we could host Meet & Greets, we'd love to hear from you!! meetandgreet@gpa-mn.org
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Coat Making
Coats. Up here in Minnesota everyone needs a good coat. Especially our greyhounds. If you are handy with a sewing machine and fabrics like fleece and would like to make coats for our greyhounds let us know. We give out a coat to new adopters during the cooler months of the year. We also need coats for the hounds while they are in foster care. If you would like more info on how to volunteer to help make coats please contact us at info@gpa-mn.org. Or maybe you are not handy but have materials to donate that would also help those that make the coats for us.
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Newsletter
We're always in need of a few good submissions for the newsletter. If you would like to write an article, submit a picture, or help in any way, please let us know! newsletter@gpa-mn.org
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Special Events
There are several special events through the year the GPA-MN participates in or hosts. The most well known was is Greyfest, and other events such as the Renaissance festival, an arts & crafts fair, dinner at Gastoff's, a booth at the State Fair, and other events help GPA-MN raise funds and awareness to keep the organization going. If soliciting donations, organizing schedules, or even set-up and clean up is your specialty, please keep us in mind for these events!
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Gift Wrapping
Every Christmas season, teams of dedicated volunteers head to Barnes and Noble in Edina, Calhoun Village, and Har Mar Mall to wrap Christmas gifts and spread the word about greyhound adoption. These fundraisers give GPA-MN a little exposure they wouldn't otherwise get and also some extra cash! So if you if you can't sew but can wrap a present, keep us in mind during the holidays, as there are dozens of 2-4 hour wrapping shifts that need to get filled!
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