Jersey in July: RedRover Responders x Greater Good Charities

By Johanna Casao, Communications Manager –

KATIE CAMPBELL, PRESIDENT AND CEO

What a thrill and honor to have joined our RedRover Responders team last month at a domestic violence shelter in New Jersey with our friends at Greater Good Charities (GGC) 💜

These projects are always one of my favorite parts of my job, but this one feels just a little extra special to me. Not only did I get to work alongside our amazing RedRover Responders volunteers, but we also helped the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence (NJCEDV) and the Community Foundation of New Jersey move one step closer to their goal, becoming the first “pet-friendly state” in the country: ensuring at least one domestic violence shelter in each county can provide housing for survivors and their pets.

I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to work with GGC and Safe in Hunterdon to create more safe spaces where survivors and their pets can find relief and healing together. And we stand ready to help more organizations create pet housing programs with free training and coaching through our Don’t Forget the Pets collaborative project. Let’s get this done in New Jersey and beyond!

TIA JOHNSON, OUTREACH MANAGER and RESPONDERS TEAM LEAD

This past July, our RedRover Responders volunteers returned to duty with Greater Good Charities’ construction team to help build pet-inclusive accommodations at a New Jersey domestic violence (DV) shelter.

We assisted with a wide variety of tasks as this project included both indoor and outdoor renovations. Volunteers working indoors assisted with painting the bedroom and living room walls, helping measure, cut, and lay new flooring, and assembling furniture and pet enrichment. Outdoor activities focused on installing chain link fencing for the dog play yards, sanding, priming, and painting cat shelves and perches, and constructing raised garden beds.

One of my favorite parts about this deployment (and “build” deployments in general) is having the opportunity to learn new skills and techniques from Greater Good Charities’ expert construction staff. One of our volunteers learned how to lay flooring, two other volunteers learned how to cut metal with a band saw, and three volunteers learned how to install chain link fencing for the first time. It feels great to leave these experiences with a sense of accomplishment, a boost in confidence, and with an improved skill set that can be applied to your own DIY projects at home.

While you may face challenges at deployments, whether that’s unpredictable weather in Washington, wildfire smoke in Utah, or extreme heat in New Jersey, volunteering with RedRover and Greater Good Charities is always worth it. A week of hard work provides you with cool new skills and an even cooler group of new friends. And most importantly, your work directly helps people and pets in crisis access safe shelter, together.