Helen Woodward Animal Center’s FREE Animal Welfare Training Workshop Travels to Seattle Animal Shelter! 

For over 13 years, through The Business of Saving Lives, Helen Woodward Animal Center has demonstrated its dedication to saving the lives of orphan pets, not only within its San Diego-based facility, but to those in shelters and rescues across the globe.  The ground-breaking educational workshops, held on Center grounds, have been making their impact by drawing animal welfare workers who travel from New York to Singapore to attend.  Now The Business of Saving Lives, in partnership with Blue Buffalo, is taking these workshops, free of charge, directly to the organizations that need them most, to help implement life-saving techniques.  The first location on its stop is Seattle Animal Shelter in Washington.  The Seattle-based Business of Changing Lives One-Day Workshop will take place at the Seattle Center Pavilion on August 12th between 9:00am and 5:30pm.

The Business of Saving Lives (formerly called ACES) began at Helen Woodward Animal Center in 2002 as quarterly workshops, taught by Center management team members on the Rancho Santa Fe, California grounds.  The goal of these workshops was to share the success the Center had experienced through President and CEO Mike Arms’ business-focused approach.   (When applying a business model over a typical non-profit model, factors such as marketing, social media and customer service take on an equal importance to targeted fundraising, successful volunteer-building and humane animal care.)  Following the free workshops, attendees began reporting amazing results, placing more pets in lifelong homes, generating added funds to carry on their programs, and expanding their reach into their communities.  As word of the workshops spread, more and more shelter workers from throughout the United States and as far away as China, Argentina, Ethiopia, India, Ireland, Kenya and Romania began to make the “pilgrimage” to Helen Woodward Animal Center to take part in the free training. 

In April of this year, Arms decided to broaden the reach of The Business of Saving Lives one step further.  Working in conjunction with Blue Buffalo, Helen Woodward Animal Center invited animal welfare organizations to apply for a free, on-site, The Business of Saving Lives One-Day Workshop experience.  To be considered, organizations were required to be from 501c3 or a government recognized non-profits that had been in existence for at least five years and had access to facilities (or chosen sites) that could hold at least fifty participants.  Organizations were also required to submit a thorough description as to why they needed the conference, including current challenges, specific needs for inspiration or business techniques, and their commitment and ability to implement the information the Center will provide.  In an overwhelming display of need, nearly 40 organizations from Florida to New York to Puerto Rico applied for the training in only 5 weeks’ time.  

Seattle Animal Shelter was selected as first on the list, not only because of their excellent application but because they are able to bring together the largest number of groups from their area to benefit from the training, as well.  The shelter has generously invited other animal welfare professionals from around the local communities to attend and network.

The upcoming, free, one-day workshop includes an informative and inspirational session with Mike Arms targeted at adapting policies to meet the changing needs of the animals and the community.  In addition, the one-day session will include Center Management experts who will provide information on concrete and proven fundraising methods to build donor bases and diversify fundraising strategies; creative, out-of-the-box public relations techniques to get media attention with little-to-no-cost; social media best practices to engage an online audience through excellent online customer service, helpful to-do’s and creative content and a special catered lunch sponsored by Blue Buffalo, to ensure that participants incur no costs on behalf of Helen Woodward Animal Center.  

“We are delighted to introduce our team to these hardworking organizations,” stated Arms.  “The only way we can really change the world of animal welfare is to work together.  It’s an honor to meet with like-minded people who want to make a better world for these beautiful pets.

The Business of Saving Lives offers brand new ways to look at animal welfare, marketing, social media, fundraising, humane education, and more, and explores how these concepts can breathe life into adoption programs that are outdated and killing millions of domestic animals annually.  To become an agent of change for animal welfare, attend the Seattle-based The Business of Saving Lives One-Day Workshop experience on Wednesday, August 12th between 9:00am and 5:30pm at the Seattle Center Pavilion.  SPACE IS LIMITED – Please r.s.v.p. to Stephanie Bell at stephanie.bell@seattle.gov. To apply for a FREE The Business of Saving Lives workshop in your own town or for more information, visit www.animalcenter.org or call 858-756-4117 x 350.