(Crossposted on kcfreecycle)
Hey there folks -
Your lurking list owner here, just popping in to tell y’all what’s new on the Kansas City Freecycle website, www.kcfreecycle.org.
The short version:
I decided to scrap the KC Animal Shelters & Rescue Orgs and KC Charity Database sections of the website; while the Charity Database is gone, I have created a new “Animals & Freecycle” page to replace the old database. I’ve also started a delicious account to keep track of “green” links and share them with readers of our blog (which is located on the main page of the website).
The long version:
1) The KC Animal Shelters & Rescue Orgs page (formerly located at www.kcfreecycle.org/shelters) used to house a searchable database of local KC area animal rescue groups and shelters. However, I hadn’t updated it in a loooong time, so the info was woefully out of date. Since creating it (years ago now), I’ve also discovered a number of national websites that provide similar services; for example, Petfinder allows users to search for an animal to adopt (by species, breed, sex, size, age, region, etc.), as well as view a list of local rescue orgs in any given area. So now, instead of maintaining our own database, I have a list of links to such websites; just look to the right hand sidebar under “Animal Adoption”, and you’re good to go.
The explanation of our no-animal policy, which also used to be located at www.kcfreecycle.org/shelters, has been updated, expounded upon, and moved to our NEW “Animals & Freecycle” page at www.kcfreecycle.org/animals-and-freecycle/. In addition to explaining why we don’t allow animals, it also provides info on how to rehome an animal yourself; adoption resources; and, perhaps most importantly, a list of contacts who can help you find an animal to adopt, rehome an animal you can no longer care for, find affordable veterinary care, deal with animal behavior issues, and more.
*** Now comes our call for “Animal Outreach Volunteers”.***
If you’re involved in the local animal rescue community, and you would like to offer your expertise to the Kansas City Freecycle community, please email me at kelly [at] kcfreecycle.org.
It’s pretty simple: I’ll just list your name, affiliation, and contact info (email address, phone number, or whatever else you feel comfortable providing) on our website under the question “Help! I’m having trouble finding a good home for my dog. Is there someone I can talk to?” (www.kcfreecycle.org/animals-and-freecycle/#animalads09). Then members can email you with any questions or concerns they have regarding finding or rehoming a pet/animal (or otherwise caring for one).
Please, though, I’d like to limit this to folks with animal rescue experience. A love for animals, while admirable, isn’t enough here!
2) I decided to scrap the KC Charity Database (www.kcfreecycle.org/charity) for the same reason - not enough time or resources to update it. In lieu of our own database, I compiled a list of links to similar websites. Again, they’re listed on the main page of our website, on the right hand sidebar, under “Find a Charity”.
By the by, there are a ton of other links up there too; local enviro groups, KC Buy/Sell/Trade sites, Recall and Safety info, Reduce/Reuse/Recycle stuff - you’ll find it all! If you know of something that should be up there but isn’t, shoot me an email.
3) On the main page of our website are the latest blog entries. As you can see, we don’t post much; there have only been 20 posts since we started the blog last May! Even though I find tons of links and stories I’d like to share, I don’t really have much time to write a whole long entry. So. I’m going to try saving interesting “green” links I come across with delicious (del.icio.us/), and then setting my delicious account up so that it posts those links to the KCF blog daily.
Until I get that set up, you can view the Kansas City Freecycle delicious account here: del.icio.us/kcfreecycle.
Any questions?
Direct any website-related inquiries to me, the webmistress.
- Kelly G., Kansas City Freecycle List Owner
kelly [at] kcfreecycle.org
