A newly constructed play space for dogs at an animal shelter was created when four charitable and nonprofit organizations came together to help.
On Thursday, July 31, at the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in Menands, officials from Habitat for Humanity Capital District, Seymour Fox Memorial Foundation and the Humane Society and CEO Youth Build, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the play space.
The dogs that are being held at the shelter are strays or part of animal cruelty cases. While they wait for their owners to pick them up or pending the outcome of a trial, the dogs need a safe place to exercise.
Bonnie Chavin, a board member for the Seymour Fox Memorial Foundation, said helping out with the project fell right in line with what the foundation supports.
“This project seemed a perfect way to carry on Mr. Fox’s kind acts. I know Mr. Fox would be grateful for the work by Habitat for Humanity and the Youth Build volunteers to make these yards a reality and for the wonderful work by the Humane Society to make it as pleasant and safe as possible for dogs under their care,” said Chavin.
When Chavin approached the Humane Society to find out what she could do to help the animals, Executive Director of the Mohawk Hudson branch, Brad Shear knew it would be a good partnership.
“It started when Bonnie Chavin was taking a tour of the facilities just to see if the foundation could help out in some way, and when she saw the dogs in this building, which don’t belong to us yet, didn’t really have a good place to get outside and run around, she felt like that was a real need that was in line with what the foundation wanted to do,” said Shear.
Seymour Fox was a trial attorney in Troy who dedicated his free time to helping families in the area. When he died at 84 in 2010, in his will, he made a bequest that he stipulated be used to support charitable organizations engaged in making the world a better place. In 2012, a private charitable foundation in his name was created to provide funding for public charities.
It was the foundation that donated the funding for supplies for the project.
“They had the funding to get the materials. They got in touch with Habitat for Humanity, and they had the construction skills to put it up, and they brought in CEO’s Youth Build students to actually do the manual labor,” said Shear.
Habitat for Humanity is currently working on a project just across the Hudson River from Menands at Fox Hollow in South Troy, where the CEO Youth Build program is helping to build homes.
“Youth Build is a program for young people, 16 to 24, who have dropped out from a traditional school setting and are selected into the program by Commission of Economic Opportunity (CEO),” said Kristin McGivern, director of program operations at CEO.
The project took about four and a half days to complete and consists of a large fenced-in area attached to the building so the dogs can run freely or play with volunteers without the fear of them escaping.
Habitat representatives said the organization was eager to help with the project.
“When our Habitat children are asked about what they are most looking forward to when moving into their new home, we are delighted to hear, ‘Mommy said I can have a puppy or kitten.’ It made perfect sense to partner with our friends at the Humane Society to improve the conditions for our furry companions, as well,” said Mike Jacobsen, the executive director of Habitat for Humanity.