Getting Together for Animal Welfare
Connecting with fellow animal
advocates is a great way to share
ideas and meet like-minded allies.
How can you start a local network
or coalition?

Linda Young

Professionally, Linda Young is the librarian at Hannibal High School in central New York state, but in "real life" she is the director of KittyCorner of CNY, Inc., a shelter for cats in Liverpool, New York, which she and her sister, Deb, founded in 1992.

She learned the value of coalition building and resource sharing when she joined the Network Partners Helping Animals, founded at Spring Farm CARES in Clinton, New York, in 2000. This group, which has grown to more than 300 members, includes shelters, rescuers, animal control officers, cruelty investigators, wildlife rehabilitators, and volunteers from all walks of life. They meet monthly to share resources, concerns, and information.

Through the Network Partners group, Linda was able to organize the first-ever adopt-a-thon in central New York in the summer of 2004. With the help of other coalition members, at least two or three similar events will take place this year.
 

In 2003, the city of Syracuse decided to convene a council to help solve the growing stray and feral cat problem -- and the resulting complaints to the city government. Linda was appointed to represent KittyCorner. In 2004 she became the president of the Syracuse-Onondaga Cat Council, a coalition between city government and several grassroots rescue organizations. That group is well on their way toward establishing a high-volume/low-cost spay and neuter clinic targeted toward the pets of low-income people. The Spay and Neuter Syracuse (SANS) clinic is slated to open in late summer, 2005.