Scouts raise money, awareness for shelter

Spend an afternoon at the Lake Martin Animal Shelter (LMAS), and you’ll see the Alexander City community’s compassion and generosity on display.
Volunteers from local high schools help mop the shelter’s floors and fill food bowls. A young mother visits almost daily to walk the dogs as she pushes her toddler in a stroller. A retiree stops by to spend time with the cats each day.
So it should be no surprise what the community accomplished through a Boy Scout project and a fundraising idea for the shelter, which was founded in 1982 and is operated by the Humane Society.
Boy Scout Troop 701 of Alexander City approached Mia Chandler, the executive director of the LMAS, at just the right time. The troop wanted a project that would help the animal shelter, while Chandler was looking for ways to make up for a rained-out fundraiser from earlier in the year. Chandler was brainstorming ideas for fundraisers and decided to involve the Boy Scouts and the community in the plans. The success of their project, and the response from the community, proved to be much more than Chandler or the Boy Scouts ever anticipated.
“I knew whatever we did, I wanted it to be bigger than just us, I wanted to involve as many people as possible,” Chandler explains. She proposed that the Boy Scouts build dog houses for the shelter to auction.
Laurie Carter, whose 15-year-old grandson, Dylan Miller, is in the troop, talked with Chandler and helped start the project with the Scouts.
“I have been involved with Scouting for eight years.” Carter says. “When Mia approached us with this project, we started bouncing around ideas and wanted to be involved right away.”
Once the Boy Scouts knew their mission, they went to work raising money for the materials. “We did research on how to build them, and then got to work with Home Depot and another home improvement center here for the supplies,” Carter says.
As another way to involve the community, the Boy Scouts created cardboard models of the dog houses to serve as donation boxes. They left the boxes with local businesses, canvassed neighborhoods and contacted friends for donations. The Ann Edwards and Fair Lane neighborhoods in Alexander City raised enough money so that each neighborhood sponsored a large dog house.
“We knew we could count on them. They have always been supportive of our troop and it meant a lot that they were so willing to give to this project,” Carter says.
In all, the troop raised enough money from individuals and local businesses for nine small houses and two large ones. The Scouts studied models and building plans for the houses, and learned safety tips and the uses for different tools before setting up workdays to build the houses together.
“The boys learned a lot. They had to work together. Really what one didn’t know, someone else knew,” Carter explains, remembering one Scout who learned roofing skills from his father. Family members also pitched in, working with the six Scouts to complete the houses.
The Scouts earned service hours as well as merit badges for pet care and model design and building for their hard work. “They were so proud of themselves, it really was a team project for our troop,” Carter says.
Once the boys finished the houses, it was time for the artists to decorate them. “We have supporters and youth who are always looking for ways to help us,” Chandler explains. “This was another opportunity for them to contribute.” Chandler reached out to local artists, volunteers and friends of the shelter, and asked them to paint the dog houses for auction.
Businesses such as Sherwin-Williams and Home Depot contributed paint and supplies. Artists had a few weeks to paint the houses, lending their own interpretation of dog house decor. “They turned out really nice. There were lots of different colors and they looked great lined up all together,” Carter says.
Alexander City’s City Hall opened its doors for the auction, displaying all of the decorated houses in the front lobby. “We would not have had enough space here at the shelter, and it was really meaningful to see all of their hard work displayed at City Hall,” Chandler says.
For weeks, people came into City Hall, admiring the houses and placing bids on them. Meanwhile, the shelter hosted an online auction for the houses on its Facebook page. As the auction was drawing to a close, one benevolent supporter bought all the dog houses.
Rescue K911, an outdoor shelter in nearby Camp Hill, needed refuge for its animals. The supporter gave the dog houses to Rescue K911.
“She recognized another need, which spread this project even farther,” Chandler says. “The outdoor shelter really had a need for these houses and we were thrilled to be able to help them out.”
The dogs of Rescue K911 have been enjoying the houses for months, and support for LMAS is growing. In addition to housing animals in need, LMAS’ mission is to educate the community, and to get people involved.
“It means so much to see so many people in the community who are willing to support us, and who wanted to be involved with this,” Chandler says. Even the Boy Scouts are continuing their involvement by making dog biscuits for the dogs at the shelter.
Chandler already is thinking of ways to do a similar project next year. For more information on pet adoption or how to get involved with Lake Martin Animal Shelter, visit http://www.lmanimalshelter.org/ or call 256-234-5533.