DAYTONA BEACH — College students from Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, found a more meaningful way to spend their winter break.
Rescue Rebuild, with the help of students from the university's Animal Life Line Club, is helping to renovate the intake kennels and outdoor play areas at Halifax Humane Society.
"We may as well do something good with our breaks and we get to travel and help the animals which is our passion" said Brianna Gubich, student and president of Animal Life Line Club.
The club holds fundraisers throughout the year to contribute to travel and food expenses when the group takes on projects like the one at Halifax Humane Society.
Rescue Rebuild is a community-driven volunteer program of GreaterGood.org, a non-profit that helps to renovate, rebuild and repair rescue and animal shelters in need of help. Though Halifax Humane Society is currently undergoing the final phase of a three-part, $3.8 million renovation/expansion project, it does not include the intake kennels or the outdoor play areas.
"They (Halifax Humane Society) didn't have the funds for the older areas so it seemed a shame to leave it looking rundown," said Bryna Donnelly, director of Rescue Rebuild.
The group started the project on Dec. 29. It includes fixing fencing on kennel doors, scraping and repainting, patching holes, fixing water damaged areas on the ceilings and replacing ceiling fans for the kennels. The project also includes building a chain link fence for the outdoor play areas. The project is expected to be completed by Jan. 10.
"It's a great opportunity to get improvements that we couldn't make prior because of funding," said Barry KuKes, community outreach director at Halifax Humane Society. "All the funds we receive are designated for certain things so we can't pull money from one fund to go towards something else."
Each year Rescue Rebuild completes 10-12 projects. Each project takes between 10-21 days to complete and volunteers will spend 10 hours a day on renovations. To be eligible, rescue and animal shelters can fill out an application on the website rescuerebuild.greatergood.org.
"All of our funds come from GreaterGood.org and it's raised through wonderful humans who donate $5 at a time," Donnelly explained.
Halifax Humane Society has previously been a part of GreaterGood.org's program, One Picture Saves A Life. They have also helped the non-profit with disaster relief, transport and food banks.
"We've partnered with Halifax Humane Society for years for different programs of GreaterGood.org, they've been a great partner," said Donnelly. "So we selected them for our first renovation project of the year."
To donate, volunteer or learn more about Rescue Rebuild, visit rescuerebuild.greatergood.org.