We want to invite all Lithuanian schools and other communities to join the social initiative “Warmth for Paws”. In this invitation, we want to introduce a wonderful initiative that was born just last spring. To achieve our goals, we need help from all communities!
Who are we?
We are the Deimantė Guobytė Charity and Support Foundation “Lithuania – for Animals”. We support Lithuanian animal shelters and strive to provide welfare for stray animals throughout Lithuania. One of our main goals is to reduce the number of stray animals in Lithuania and care for those who have no owners or permanent homes.
The goal of the “Warmth for Paws” initiative
We constantly think about how we could help stray animals and the shelters where they live. So, we launched an initiative called “Warmth for Paws”. The goal of this initiative is to involve as many Lithuanian schools as possible and, with the help of children, sew as many beds as possible for animals living in shelters. As is well known, beds in shelters wear out very quickly, so they need to be replaced often, and buying new beds is a real luxury for shelters. Beds are only donated by the occasional benefactor. So, animals in shelters usually sleep on blankets, which are definitely not the softest, warmest, or most comfortable beds.
How did the first initiative go?
We organized the first initiative in spring 2017 at the end of the school year. Six schools from Klaipėda and one school from Vilkaviškis joined this initiative. During this initiative, the seven participating schools made 115 beds, which were distributed to animal shelters. The “Warmth for Paws” record holder was the Vilkaviškis “Aušra” Gymnasium community, who sewed 25 beds. All participating schools said that joining this social initiative brought very good emotions and helped students learn compassion and care.
The initiative is expanding to cover all of Lithuania
After implementing the initiative last spring, we decided to start running it throughout the country. Our team really wants to find out – which Lithuanian school/community can sew more than the spring initiative’s record holder? If you believe in your community’s strength, we invite you to test it. And if you think the bar is too high, try anyway! In this initiative, everyone wins. Nowhere else will you win that good feeling when you help someone who needs it most. Contact us and we will definitely help you make it happen.
How can your community join this initiative?
The “Warmth for Paws” initiative gives children in schools the opportunity to very easily sew a bed following the provided instructional video. Think materials are expensive? We can confidently say that materials cost nothing! The main things needed for a quality bed are an OLD SWEATER, any STUFFING, thread, and a needle. After all, everyone has worn-out and unnecessary sweaters at home, and donating an old pillow set aside for guests is no loss. Isn’t it good to give an old and unnecessary garment a second life and thus provide warmth to someone who really needs it? You can implement this initiative both during craft classes and by setting aside separate time after school, since it takes one child between 1 and 2 hours to sew one bed. After sewing the beds, we kindly ask you to inform us about how it went, how many beds you sewed, and which shelter you donated your handmade gifts to. We want to record every good deed so that we can inspire other Lithuanian schools with them.
Below, watch the instructional video material that shows how we sew beds. Also, we invite you to view the photo gallery from the spring initiative. We look forward to your letters with questions and hope that your community will become part of this wonderful initiative!
