The animal welfare organization A Time 4 Paws (AT4P) is moving to 594 Cook Rd., in Crossville, Tenn., by August 1.
AT4P’s founder and president Karen McMeekin said, “We are currently looking for volunteers who can help us out during our last week of the move from our old adoption center location to our current, new location.”
During the week of July 27-31, AT4P must have everything transferred out of its current facility at 463 Old Jamestown Hwy. This process involves finishing kennels and cat rooms at the new center and disassembling and moving equipment from the old center before the animals can be transported.
McMeekin said that she still needs people who can:
- dig holes for and construct fencing
- fix water lines
- transport equipment and supplies
- disassemble
- paint
- garden
- landscape
- clean
She also said, “We’re still in need of cleaning supplies, bleach. We need sponges that are sort of like rough – the green scrubby pads. … We need some new mop handles, which are for industrial mops where we can change the heads out, … paper towels, toilet paper.
“We need donations of dog food: Diamond Natural chicken and rice dog food. You can buy that at Petsense. You can buy that at Tractor Supply. That’s very important because we have some very large dogs, and we’ve had them for several years. … So we’re going through bags of dog food – 40-pound bags of dog food – very quickly.”
Miranda McNeil started volunteering with AT4P to fulfill eight hours of community service for her Tennessee Promise scholarship. McNeil helps at the adoption center with socializing the dogs and other tasks as needed, and she plans to continue helping the organization long-term.
She said, “Not a lot of people understand the need these places have. I never knew how important volunteers were until I started volunteering.”
McMeekin said, “If [you] are new volunteers who have never been a part of our organization in the past, [you] can email me at savetnpets@gmail.com. … We can set up a time. We’re generally here from eight until three everyday. And the big moving days will most likely be Thursday and Friday and probably Saturday.”
Giving some of your time during the week of July 27 to August 1, will help AT4P meet its moving deadline.
“Our grand opening won’t be until September,” said McMeekin, “but, in the meantime, we need all of this completed for the safety and the health of the animals and for the volunteers.”
Additionally, the group needs help daily at its adoption center and its thrift store at 1201 West Ave. If you are interested in long-term volunteering and interaction with the animals, be sure to fill out a volunteer application.