Please be sure to check with your school to make sure these projects meet your school’s requirements for service credit.
Anti-Cruelty offers a wide range of service projects that are ideal for individual students in need of service hours, scout troops looking to earn a badge, or teachers in search of a classroom project. Anti-Cruelty cannot provide supplies, but several projects can be completed using recycled materials from your home and a little creativity. Each project is worth a number of hours determined by its complexity and approximate time needed for completion; mix and match projects to suit your needs!
All estimated times are based on an individual’s pace; if you are volunteering as part of a group your awarded time will be divided evenly (e.g. an individual volunteer who makes 5 dog beds will be awarded 5 hours; a group of five volunteers who make 5 dog beds will each be awarded 1 hour)
Please note these service projects are for students and youth organizations and are NOT eligible for court ordered community service.
Turning In Your Service Project
Completed projects can be turned in during our Shelter Service Day event, or by emailing our team for drop-off instructions at learn@anticruelty.org. Note that if you show up without contacting our team in some way (either by registering for Shelter Service Day or emailing us for instructions) there is no guarantee someone will be available to confirm your service project.
You can mail your completed projects to us at the following address:
Anti-Cruelty
c/o Experiential Learning Team
157 W Grand Ave
Chicago, IL 60654
In your package, please also include a note with the following information:
- Your full name
- Your email address
- An inventory of your included projects
- Whether or not you require a service confirmation letter
- Any other required documentation for your project, as outlined below
After you send your package off in the mail, please notify our Experiential Learning Team at learn@anticruetly.org so we can keep an eye out for it!
DIY Donations
All of the animals in our shelter need behavioral enrichment items to keep them stimulated, occupied, and happy during their time at The Anti-Cruelty Society. You can make these “do-it-yourself” items out of recycled materials from the comfort of your own home. Each item has been assigned a time value, so you will need to do a little math to calculate how many items you will need to meet your service hour requirements.
- Cork Toys (1 minute each)
- Kitty Cardboard Mouse (5 minutes each)
- Kitty Sachets (5 minutes each)
- Dog Tug Toys (20 minutes each)
- No Sew Pet Beds (Dog: 1 hour each; Cat: 30 minutes each)
Organize a Wish List Drive
This project can be completed for up to 10 service hours
Thank you for organizing a Wish List Drive on our behalf! Anti-Cruelty is always in need of extra supplies to help our animals stay healthy and happy while they wait for their forever homes.
High-Need Wish List Items:
- Newspapers
- Towels
- Pet Blankets
- Unopened pet food (dry)
- Unopened pet food (canned)
- Unopened pet treats
- Baby food (meat flavors; no onion or garlic)
You can view additional items on our Amazon Wish List here.
Developing your Wish List Drive
- Select a location to collect items. It could be your school, community center, church, synagogue, or a local store. Be sure to ask for permission to hold your Wish List Drive.
- Decide how long you will be collecting items and when you will pick them up. For example, you may decide to collect items for two weeks or one month.
- Design and distribute eye-catching flyers around your community to advertise your drive. Be sure to include in your posters what items are needed, where they can be dropped off and when they will be picked up.
- Provide a drop box for items at the collection point. Decorate your box so people know what it’s for.
- Track the time you spend planning and facilitating your drive with your school’s tracker (if required), or use our tracker below. Your total hours should add up to 10.
- Be sure to keep a copy of your flyer and take pictures throughout your project. You’ll need to submit these to us for credit.
Turning in your Project
Now that your Wish List Drive has ended, and you have collected supplies for animals, it’s time to get credit for all your hard work!
- Make an inventory list of all of the items you have collected.
- Email Learn@anticruelty.org to make a drop-off appointment. You can also drop off your donations anytime by registering for our Shelter Service Day event [Link to Shelter Service Day | The Anti-Cruelty Society (anticruelty.org)]. Note that if you show up to drop off your project without emailing our team or registering for Shelter Service Day, there is no guarantee that someone will be available to meet you.
- For your drop-off please bring:
- A copy of your Wish List Drive inventory
- Pictures from your Drive event
- A copy of your flier
- Your service tracker (either the one required and provided by your school, or the one we provide on this page), detailing the dates and times that you worked on your project.
Have any questions or need clarification on this project? Email learn@anticruelty.org.
Organize a Fundraiser
This project can be completed for up to 10 service hours
Use your creativity and ambition to raise money and awareness for the animals of The Anti-Cruelty Society. Think of activities you enjoy and turn them into a fundraiser!
Developing your Fundraiser
- Decide on an activity you enjoy doing, which people would want to participate in. Strategize how your event will allow you to collect money. Some examples include: an art show, a lemonade stand, a car wash, or a bake sale. If you choose to host your event at a location in your community (school, church, community center, etc.) be sure to get permission first.
- Design eye-catching flyers to distribute around your neighborhood encouraging people to come to your fundraiser. Be sure to include where and when your fundraiser will be.
- Create a donation box or envelope to collect money. Be sure to decorate it in a way that lets participants know they are donating to a good cause!
- Track the time you spend planning and facilitating your event with your school’s tracker (if required). You can also download and use the Anti-Cruelty project log below. Your total hours should add up to 10.
- Be sure to keep a copy of your flyer and take pictures during your event. You’ll need to submit these to the Society for credit along with your hour log.
Turning In Your Project
- Now that your fundraising event has ended and you have collected some money to help animals, it’s time to get credit for your hard work!
- Count your raised funds and write the total on a notecard. Please include your name, email address, and school. Enclose the money and the notecard in an envelope.
- Schedule a drop-off appointment with our Experiential Learning Team by emailing learn@anticruelty.org. You can also drop off your donations by registering for our Shelter Service Day. Note that if you show up to drop off your project without emailing our team or registering for Shelter Service Day, there is no guarantee that someone will be available to meet you.
- For your drop-off please bring:
- Your envelope of raised funds and notecard totals
- Pictures from your event
- A copy of your flier
- Your school’s service learning tracker detailing the dates and times that you worked on your project, or the same information logged using the downloadable Anti-Cruelty Tracker on this page
Have any questions or need clarification on this project? Email learn@anticruelty.org.
Anti-Cruelty Service Tracker
Use this downloadable tool to help you keep track of the time you work on your service project. Be sure to check with your school before beginning your project to determine what kind of confirmation they require. Some schools may need a confirmation letter on letterhead, or use their own school-specific service tracker.