Congratulations to Amanda Volden and Melissa Yanez, CSU Channel Islands graduates 2015! Back in January Amanda and Melissa contacted the Humane Society of Ventura County to see about joining our team to work on their Senior Capstone for the communications department. Every year the graduating class of CSU Channel Islands is required to do 90 hours of community service in their are of expertise. With over 100 graduates each year the program donates close to 10,000 hours of service to the Ventura County Non-Profit Community!

This is the first year that HSVC participated in the program, where dedicated students from the school design and execute a project particular to the needs of the organization they are serving. Amanda and Melissa immediately knew where we needed their talents. They helped start and maintain different social media outlets, focusing on Instagram. They started an Instagram titled “HSVC_OJAI” as a marketing tool to assist in attracting people to adopt and donate. The Instagram photo posts include: animals for adoption, events, five-dollar Fridays, and successful adoptions. Amanda and Melissa helped broaden our audience by getting the stories of not only our animals but the shelter, volunteers, and our mission out to the public. They assisted in creating educational content for our weekly newsletters and website, setting a precedent of high quality narrative work. 

We would like to thank Amanda and Melissa and all our volunteers who donate their talents to the shelter! Volunteers are essential to our success and the compassionate care and protection of all animals in Ventura County. Thank you to CSU Channel Islands for giving back to your community through this amazing program!