One Dollar, One Shelter, One Month - Help an animal shelter with just one dollar

Nine-year-old Danielle Witte was looking for a way to help raise much-needed funds for her local animal shelter. While brainstorming with her mother, Jodi Witte, owner of AnimalHelp.Com, and her brothers, thirteen-year-old Christopher and fifteen-year-old brother Robert, many great ideas were developed. Each fundraising idea had potential to bring in a few hundred dollars, but Danielle was not satisfied with that amount. She wanted to help raise enough funds for the shelter to be able to expand its facility, provide more help to the community and the animals of the area. To her mother’s surprise, Danielle was thinking more along the lines of six figures.

“If all my friends and your friends would give just one dollar, and get their friends to give one dollar, and on and on, we could raise one hundred thousand dollars.” Danielle told her mother. Ms Witte is used to this level of intelligent speaking from her young daughter. Danielle, a straight A+ student, has a high school reading level, and is amazingly opinionated especially when the subject is close to her heart as animals always have been.

Ms Witte could see the merit of this idea. Using her resources of a successful animal health website, many friends in the veterinary and sheltering industries, and the kids help, she got started. Beginning with a plan, the family laid out a way they could not only help their local shelter but other shelters all over the United States that were in similar circumstances as their own. The “One Dollar, One Shelter, One Month” Animal Shelter Campaign was born.

Starting with a broadcast email to her contacts, Jodi Witte asked for their support and help in each sending one dollar to the featured animal shelter and to help spread the word to their friends. The front page of AnimalHelp.Com was dedicated to promoting the efforts, the kids developed a My Space profile, and the story was added to the Care2.Com website. The campaign has begun.

“One Dollar, One Shelter, One Month” Animal Shelter Campaign will post information for a different animal shelter each month. Contributors are asked to send one dollar directly to that shelter during that month, and then to ask all their friends and contacts to also do the same. One dollar a month from a lot of people will make a world of difference for these shelters that don't have the benefit of wealthy donors, large budgets, or a huge staff for fundraising. Think of the impact your one dollar can provide…one dollar from thousands of people can raise thousands of dollars for one shelter. If you can send one dollar each month for a year, all it will cost you is $12 by the end of the year, but 12 animal shelters in desperate need of funds will benefit so much, and so will the animals and the community!

The featured shelter of the month will be posted on AnimalHelp.Com each month and posted on the Myspace profile and Care2.com also in efforts to reach as many people as possible. Everyone is asked to forward the information to their friends, post it on their website or blog, and spread the word in any way they have available. Danielle hopes to get the news stations involved to reach those people who may be watching TV instead of on their computers. She is ready to present her idea to the entire country.

Danielle Witte is a brave and bright little girl with a heart of gold, and a resolve of steel. With her behind this campaign, it is sure to be a success!