Kitten season happens each year in the months of May through October, but it can sometimes last year-round. This year HSVC has had many kittens arrive at the shelter in need of care. The shelter’s Foster Coordinator, Cheney, juggles our community’s kitten care while also gathering the supplies needed for young fur babies. HSVC is very grateful to Girl Scout Troop #61690 for seeing the need for supplies for our kitten foster program! These supplies are a crucial part of the foster care program to ensure our foster parents have the tools needed to care for orphaned litters. Our beloved foster families help the kittens thrive and eventually return to the shelter to find their new forever homes. Supplies can be donated to the shelter and will help keep down the financial cost of caring for our community’s animals. Visit our Foster Kitten Amazon Wishlist if you would like to support our efforts!

The co-leaders of Troop #61690, Breanne Thompson and Rebecca Engel, initially reached out to me in April. They brought the girls to the shelter to donate Girl Scout cookies to the animal care staff and volunteers. The troop participated in a shelter tour, and I spoke to them about the different services our organization provides for the community. They expressed interest in helping HSVC to complete their Girl Scout Bronze Award Project. This mighty troop of five went above and beyond using their skills and talents to collect donations, share an awareness of the needs of the shelter with friends and family, design and sew kitten foster bags, and write thank you messages to those who foster the kittens in need.   

Building a community of youth animal friends in Ventura County is an important part of Humane Education for Youth (HEY) programs. It has many impactful benefits for everyone involved. The scouts from Troop #61690 are an amazing example of the power of youth service and will forever be “HSVC Friends”. A HUGE thank you to those who joined the girls’ efforts and for this troop's amazing dedication. I feel truly grateful to be part of experiences like this!  

Here are some reflections the girls wanted to share-  

Vivian T.:  

“My Troop and I chose the Ojai Humane Society for our Girl Scout Bronze Award Project because there are so many animals that need to be cared for and I love animals so much! Supplying the foster parents with what they need so they can help the cats and kittens is important so they can focus on giving love to the animals. I hope the cats go to really wonderful homes, I know the Humane Society will do a good job making sure of that.”  

Sedona E.   

“I chose to do my bronze award to help the Ojai humane society because I wanted to help them get stuff for the cats and kittens so they could be happier. I am very grateful they let us do this for our bronze award because it was a fun project to do and it made me feel good that I helped them. The kittens there were adorable and the people who worked there were so nice that they deserve all the things that we got for them.” 

Madison S.   

“I love animals and cats. I wanted our Girl Scout Troop to help the cats in need of supplies to help them get fostered and adopted. Hope the cats go to good families.” 

  Megan H.: 

“I wanted to do this bronze project for the humane society because I love cats and kittens. I want them to go to good homes.” 

Mia R.  : 

“I think the reason we chose the Ojai humane society was because a lot of animals are out in the wild and don’t have any owners. Also, it’s harder for an animal that doesn’t belong in the wild to survive because unlike humans they aren’t as smart so they don’t know how to get food or survive and need to be taken care of.”