Page 83 - Book about Friendship and Future.Stories of Volunteers.

Irina Baryshnikova

Human Resources Manager
A K Restaurants Russia LLC

Сo-authors: Stepanova Nataliya and Irina Kaysina

Helping the Dogs’ Shelter

4 years ago, a friend of mine visited an animal exhibition and
got a dog there. They started a new life – both the dog, and my
friend. At that period the idea of corporate volunteering started
to actively develop in KFC. And together with my peers we start-
ed thinking why not help the animals kept in the shelters of our
town! We visited a lot of shelters: the main part of them wanted
only financial help or already had enough volunteers. Finally, we
decided to go to the shelter which had organized the exhibition.
We were so scared during our first visit! We were not scared
of dogs – we were afraid that we would take all of them home.
We saw a huge shelter, in which only the volunteers’ engage-
ment let maintain the dogs’ lives at a minimum level required. We
were welcome, but 150 kg of the dog food that we had brought
was just a tiny input! The decision was made quickly and unani-
mously – we needed expansion!
We addressed our friends and peers. It became a real multi-
project, in which people from various company departments,
brands and partnering businesses took part! Due to our com-
mon efforts, we have managed to achieve the following result:
the newcomers meet satiated and joyful dogs that are no longer
afraid of humans and ready to contact! Taking them for a walk
during each visit we were training them to open up and trust
humans, and now it is much easier to find a foster home for them!
After delivering the project for 2 years, we managed to get
a grant in a volunteer contest from the KFC Corporate Charity
Fund “Opening Horizons” to implement our ideas. Collaborating
with the administration we have managed to improve the quality
of life of the dogs with chronical diseases and also create more
comfortable conditions for the animals increasing the walking
area threefold.
In the course of this project two our volunteers have adopted
the dogs from the shelter. Our project has been constantly grow-
ing, and more benefactors have joined us! The shelter gets much
more attention and aid!