Escorting adoptable pups at DC Actors for Animals' 6th Annual Beltway Barks, Photo by Virgil Ocampo
“We make progress in society only if we stop cursing and complaining about its shortcomings and have the courage to do something about them.” - Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
When I was 17 years old, I started volunteering with shelter dogs in a service dog training program in Massachusetts. It was my first taste of dog rescue work and advocacy. My eyes were opened to the best and the worst of humanity. Years later, I am still an active member of the dog rescue community, trying to help save lives, meeting with lawmakers to strengthen animal welfare laws and enforcement, supporting the many struggling shelters and rescues in our country.
My primary volunteer work in dog rescue is with Partnership for Animal Welfare (PAW), Greenbelt, MD. Thousands of lives have been saved and found forever homes thanks to their tireless efforts. To learn more about PAW, and ways to volunteer even a few hours every month to visit with homeless dogs and cats while they wait for their new families, go to: https://paw-rescue.org/paw-rescue.org/
In 2016, I was invited to join a new theatre company with a mission of activism and advocacy, Ally Theatre Company. It was an opportunity to combine my passion for theatre and my desire to bring about social change, making our world better, one story at a time.
In the role of Director of Community Engagement, I loved reaching deeper into my immediate community -- expanding upon the conversations I had already been having as a local resident, getting to the heart of community and social issues, and making the connections with those voices and the Ally Leadership Team. Prince George's County, MD has a thriving arts scene in the Gateway Arts District and beyond. The diversity of cultures, peoples, and religions is what other communities can only strive for, and those stories and voices deserve to be heard.
After 5 short years, Ally Theatre Company had a major change in leadership and mission focus. VOICES UNBARRED, a brilliant organization that uses the ideology and techniques of Theatre of the Oppressed to create a platform for individuals who are currently or formerly incarcerated to have their voices heard, became the sole programming with the ever inspiring Lori Pitts as the new Ally Artistic Director.
Big things are to come for Voices Unbarred -- they were changing lives and perceptions already, and now they will make even more of an impact. Visit their website and learn more about their work: www.voicesunbarred.org/
