What is $5 Friday?
I started “$5 Fridays” to inspire people to support animal advocacy organizations. Every Friday, I select an organization and kindly ask everyone to donate $5 to it. Many people don’t have a lot of money to give but most people have a little. If we all donate a little, it will add up to a lot and make a big difference for animals.

How can you help?
1) Donate $5 directly to the $5 Friday pick via their website (or any animal
protection organization you choose!).

2) Post the name of the organization and your donation amount in the comments section below so we can keep a running total of donations (i.e. “I donated $5 to Mercy for Animals”). I confirm our total with the organization the following day.

That’s it. It’s that simple!

How do I select the organizations?
I read independent assessments, interview organization leaders, speak with volunteers, read websites and Google reviews, check social media activity, review the organization’s financials, and think critically about every decision. I focus on organizations that can quantify the effectiveness of their work and make the biggest impact for animals.

Why should we donate?
Animal rescue and advocacy organizations rely on our generosity to sustain their work. Whether it’s providing humane education to students, designing and printing veg starter kits, launching online pro-animal advertisements, employing undercover investigators, organizing boycotts or protests, advocating for pro-animal legislation, or providing medical care, food, and shelter to rescued animals, it costs money to run these organizations. Our donations directly help them save more animals’ lives.

Our new $5 Friday total is $4,409 donated to help animals!
Let’s keep it going!

$5 Friday Pick #10: Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, Poolsville, MD

Here are five reasons to donate $5 to Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary:

1. A girl passed a farm and saw a pile of dead pigs. She noticed one of the pig’s ears was moving. He was still alive. The farmer said he had pneumonia and because it was an organic farm, she couldn’t use antibiotics to save him so she left him on the pile to die a slow death. Poplar Spring rescued that pig, named him Willoughby (pictured above), and nursed him back to health. Now he is a happy and healthy boy!

2. Poplar Spring cares for 200 rescued farm animals, including many special needs animals such a three legged goat named Evie. Evie had to have her leg amputated when it was fractured and could not be repaired.  The owners did not want a three legged goat, and said they were planning to shoot Evie.  The veterinarian did not want to see Evie killed, so she called Poplar Spring, and they welcomed her to the sanctuary.  Even though she is missing a leg, she can run, jump, and play as well as any goat, and is very happy and healthy.  She loves to be held and petted and especially loves grapes.

                                                Evie, the three-legged goat.

3. Poplar Spring reached more than 10,000 people in person this year with a message of compassion for all animals through humane education and sanctuary tours. The ripple effect of that outreach is immeasurable but likely massive. They do much more than just rescue and rehabilitate animals.

4. The Poplar Springs “Thanksliving” video that encourages people to extend their umbrella of kindness to all animals was recently posted by National Geographic on their Facebook page and was viewed by 696,000 people. This sanctuary is inspiring people to show kindness towards all animals far beyond their sanctuary.

5. Visit the Poplar Spring website and take a look at the inspiring photos of their rescued animals, check out their events, and read their story and you will undoubtedly become a supporter.

Let’s show the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary team how much we appreciate everything they do to make the world a more humane place for animals by empowering them to do even more.

Click here to make your $5 donation directly to Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary. Thank you for participating in $5 Friday.

Remember to list your donation and the amount in the comments section below so we can track our total. Thank you!