The Petfinder Foundation's Rescue U team is heading to Tennessee's Humane Society of Jefferson County, where from May 22-30, the student volunteers will complete a staggering number of projects to renovate the shelter. The Jefferson County shelter is near and dear to the students' hearts: Shelter manager Melissa Enck is a graduate of Delaware Valley College -- where Rescue U got its start.

Adoptable pets like Wilma will benefit from the Rescue U renovation of the
Humane Society of Jefferson County.

Today is traveling day. Christine Yacco, a Rescue U and Delaware Valley College alum, and I are driving from Pennsylvania to Jefferson City, TN. We spent hours yesterday loading a U-Haul with tools and supplies. In a normal car, it would be an 11-hour drive. In our loaded-down truck, it will definitely take a few hours more.

Doug Woolsey, a Rescue U program manager based in Tucson, is meeting us at the shelter. Christine, Doug and I will get all the supplies and work plans ready. We'll also pre-pour the concrete foundation for the new cat-enrichment area that we're building for the shelter.

The students can then jump right in on Tuesday when they start working. This is going to be a great trip and the shelter staff and board of directors are so excited and appreciative. They've even promised to cook for us. You have to love Southern hospitality!

In January, Rescue U went to Guthrie, OK, to rebuild the City of Guthrie Animal Shelter, which had been destroyed by a tornado in May 2011. Our volunteers repaired the roof and kennels, built new storage and exercise pens, added a meet-and-greet area and more. (Read our online diary from the trip.)

Four months later, what kind of impact has the Rescue U visit had on the shelter? "It has reinforced our community to become more proactive when it comes to the animals," shelter manager and animal control superintendent Suzy Brown tells us. "The news around the [project] really raised public awareness."

The visit also improved morale among shelter staff. "Rescue U has renewed a broken shelter. [It's] given us a bright tomorrow and hope for the future," Brown says. "It is a gift that will continue to give for many years to come, and that is truly exciting. We are truly grateful."

To spread the word about the great impact a handful of dedicated volunteers can have on homeless pets and the people who care for them, the Petfinder Foundation is launching a new webisode series about Rescue U. We're kicking it off with a look back at the Guthrie trip and we'll cover our upcoming projects throughout the year. Check out the first installment after the jump, and stay tuned for more!

Donate to support Rescue U's shelter-rebuilding projects.

The final two days of our Rescue U trip at the City of Guthrie Animal Shelter in Oklahoma were a lot of work. Volunteers completed the outdoor cat enclosure, a metal storage building and the pergola over the new meet-and-greet pens we built earlier in the week. We put the finishing touches on the painting, the exercise pens and the roofs over the outdoor dog kennels. The brand new stainless steel cat cages we ordered arrived the final day and were installed.

You could see the appreciation in shelter manager and animal control officer Suzy Brown's eyes every time she saw another completed project. "To put it into one word: WOW," she says. "It was amazing. There was immediate progress. It was like watching a movie on fast forward. Any time you take a cat or dog outside to play with them, it is so great, and with the new exercise areas, everyone gets yard time now."

This week the Petfinder.com Foundation's Rescue U volunteers have been hard at work repairing the damage dealt to the City of Guthrie Animal Shelter by an F5 tornado in May 2011. (Watch a video of our first day in Guthrie here.)

As the week comes to an end, the transformation of the shelter is almost complete, but the impact it will have on the community is just beginning.

This week has been an inspiring experience. Working through their holiday break, the student volunteers are in high spirits. Two local news stations picked up the story (News 9 and KFOR) and the community is rallying behind Rescue U: Enormous meals have been donated to keep the students fed, pet food and beds are coming in from local donors, and city employees regularly stop by the site to see the progress and cheer the kids on.

Watch our second video update and see our progress after the jump.

Hello and happy New Year! This New Year's Eve I traveled to Guthrie, OK, to help rebuild the City of Guthrie Animal Shelter as part of the Petfinder.com Foundation's next week-long Rescue U Trip -- our program that sends college students to repair and rebuild shelters in need.

On May 24, 2011, the Guthrie shelter was hit by an F5 tornado (the most powerful kind), leveling one of its two buildings and significantly damaging the outdoor kennels and other infrastructure.

In the seven months since, shelter staff have been struggling to rebuild and care for the animals at an offsite temporary shelter. FEMA aided in rebuilding some of the shelter, but the money ran out and the project stalled.

Thanks to funding from the Animal Rescue Site, Rescue U is here to finish the job and make sure the employees of the Guthrie shelter can function at full capacity by Sunday, Jan. 8. Then the shelter will once again be able to open its doors to help the people and pets of Guthrie, OK.

After the jump, watch our first video update from the trip.

Founded in 2003, the Petfinder.com Foundation has grown significantly over the past eight years. Our first year, we awarded $43,000 in grants to shelters and rescue groups across the U.S. At the end of 2011 we will have awarded more than $10 million in grants to Petfinder.com member shelters and rescue groups.

To say that we are thrilled about this growth is an understatement. As we move forward to the end of the year, we're reviewing some of our success stories and new partnerships and relationships. Here are just a few highlights:

Rescue U
Our Rescue U program grew greatly in 2011. In it, we send student volunteers to shelters in rural areas in need of assistance. The students work with shelter volunteers and members of the community to fix up and build new kennels, cat houses and play areas, bathing areas and more. (Read stories
from past trips here.)

We're now working with universities and shelters to establish Rescue U chapters nationwide. These chapters will focus on their own communities, getting together to help their local shelters. Several times a year, the Petfinder.com Foundation will do larger trips to places that need it most, ensuring that efforts bring a positive change to shelters and homeless pets.

The Petfinder.com Foundation has been in Kentucky at the Rowan County Animal Shelter and Menifee County Animal Shelter for the past week and the work is finally done!

There has been a ton of progress on both shelters thanks to the Rescue U student volunteers and shelter staff. The dogs are resting on newly raised dog beds and finding comfort in their fences and new roofed kennels.

But the dogs were not the only ones to get new digs! The cats have a new indoor and outdoor play area, providing them with comfort and safety while they wait for their forever homes. (Check out our video of the new cat enclosure below.)

Maybe the happiest news of all: 65 dogs will find new and loving homes! They are being transported from  overpopulated shelters to shelters and rescue groups in the Northeast including St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in New Jersey, Furry Friends in Ontario, Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation in Virginia and Animal House Rescue, Willing Hearts Dalmatian Rescue and Worthy Tails Animal Rescue in Pennsylvania.

Not only will the move improve their chances for adoption, it will provide them with a better quality of life, with less risk of illness and kennel stress, while they await adoption.

Check out this video showing some of the work students did on the cat areas in the final days of the Rescue U trip.

I spent four days at Rowan County Animal Shelter in Morehead, KY, on the Petfinder.com Foundation Rescue U trip last week.

When I arrived, it was clear that the shelter was in need of repair. I am amazed at how the students got to work, diligently fixing the roof, painting and cleaning the kennels, making dog beds and much more. The students' dedication is impressive.

The dogs happily watched as the students worked around them, getting occasional pets and hugs along the way. One student fell in love with a puppy and will be taking her home.

I fell in love with a skinny, sweet Beagle who bravely let me pick ticks off his ears. Eventually, he ate out of my hands and his tail started to wag slowly. He was picked up off the street with another dog whose parents claimed him over the weekend.

As for my "Hound," Rescue U is transporting him to a foster home with the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation in Arlington, VA, until he finds his forever home -- which I can promise you he fully deserves and will thrive in. (Check out this video of him and his buddy at the shelter.)


Stay tuned; soon we'll show you the results of the shelter renovation!

This trip was made possible by BISSELL, Inc. and The Animal Rescue Site.

To show your support for homeless pets, text 4PETS and your email address to 20222 to donate $10 to the Petfinder.com Foundation, or visit Petfinder.com Foundation.

It's day three in Morehead, Kentucky on our Rescue U trip to help Rowan County Animal Shelter. We've made a lot of progress and managed to dodge any significant weather-related delays. The outdoor kennel roofs are framed, fencing is going up, the shelter roof is repaired and dog beds and kitty condos are being constructed by the students. The community support is overwhelming.

Our friend Rob Hamilton, the manager of Braxton County Animal Shelter in West Virginia, drove over yesterday to help out and pay it forward. Last year his facility was the site of a Rescue U trip. (Read about and watch video of that trip here.)

Colleen Harrington, the director of shelter operations at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in New Jersey, joined us too. She is here to help care for the animals and transport dogs back with her, increasing the likelihood that they will be adopted.

After a long travel day full of weather-related flight delays, I made it to Morehead, KY, and met up with the students and volunteers who are here for our Rescue U program.

We headed out early this morning to the Rowan County Animal Shelter and began work to repair the roof and kennel fencing -- two of many projects that desperately need to be completed by the time we leave.

This is day one of a 10-day trip for students from Delaware Valley College, Morehead State University and Eastern Kentucky University who gave up their first week of summer vacation to meet us in Kentucky to rehab the shelter to help homeless pets.

The pets here are all amazing, with eyes that melt your soul, all of them just waiting to find their forever homes. One look at them quickly reminds all of us why we are here. The staff and volunteers at the shelter welcomed us with open arms and the community of Rowan is rallying around this effort. I can't help but be inspired by the dedication of the students, volunteers and staff who all care so much.

Follow us here as we blog from the shelter each day.

And remember ... today is the last day to VOTE for the Petfinder.com Foundation to support this program with a $500,000 donation from Chase. Voting ends at midnight EST. Every vote counts and we could definitely use yours!!!

This trip is made possible through the support of our friends at BISSELL, longtime advocates for pet adoption; The Animal Rescue Site and GreaterGood.org. Visit The Animal Rescue Site every day to make a free click donation that supports the Petfinder.com Foundation.

... back to the shelter ...

Liz