Canton-Based Day Program Members Lend Pet Pantry A Helping Hand

CANTON, MA — A pair of organizations in Brockton and Canton joined forces to help pets and their owners in need this holiday season. In the process, both groups were able to help each other as well.

Members of Jewish Family and Children's Services CHAI Works-South — a community-based day program for adults with disabilities in Canton — volunteered with The Pet Pantry — a non-profit organization in Brockton that distributes pet food and related items to owners in need — for six months leading up to Christmas.

CHAI Works-South members enjoyed the benefits of making some four-legged friends, while helping keep pets in the homes of families struggling financially. The Pet Pantry enjoys the benefits of eager volunteers who care deeply care about the cause they are helping.

"We have served people who are enduring all kinds of situations," said Corinne Lawson, president of The Pet Pantry. "We have clients who have undergone major surgeries and are paying off medical bills, single parents or those who are recently divorced, veterans, senior citizens and people with disabilities."

CHAI Works-South volunteers have been helping The Pet Pantry every few weeks since July. They travel to the Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts where they pick up large bags of dog and cat food, cat litter, leashes and other items. They then take them back to the CHAI Works office in Canton where they measure, bag and label the pet food and litter.

"Preparing the pet supplies for distribution is very instructive," said CHAI Works manager Heidi Isler. "Our participants learn to work as a team, to clearly communicate with one another, and to take pride in their work."

Volunteers also make their own homemade dog biscuits and toys for Pet Pantry clients. The team then brings the items to Sullivan Towers — an affordable housing development in Brockton — to distribute the items.

"Visiting Sullivan Towers is such a meaningful experience for our participants," Isler said. "They really enjoy having the chance to interact directly with the people and animals they are helping."

The volunteers then set up tables where residents and their pets and can walk the aisles like a story and pick out the items they need.

"Interacting with the dogs and cats at the apartment complex is a blast for the CHAI Works volunteers," Isler said. "Most of our participants don’t have pets at home, so this is a real treat."

The Pet Pantry is working converting a semi-trailer into a new distribution and storage center and hopes to expand its services to more communities. As The Pet Pantry grows, Isler said she hopes that CHAI Works-South can help the organization in new ways.

"Partnering with The Pet Pantry has been such a joy for our participants," she said. "We believe so strongly in their mission, and we can't wait to see what is next for them."