06/17/2026
This is what community looks like.
Over the past few days, I’ve spent hours surrounded by shoes.
Not because I collect them. Not because it’s fun. Not because there aren’t a hundred other things I’d rather be doing.
But because every one of these pairs represents someone who cared enough to help.
Someone cleaned out a closet.
Someone loaded a bag into their car.
Someone drove it to a collection box.
Businesses and organizations throughout our community hosted those collection sites.
Volunteers picked up the donations, transported them, paired them, counted them, rubber-banded them, bagged them, stored them, and eventually loaded them onto a truck.
For more than 12 years, this remarkable chain of kindness has helped AnimalVillageNM raise funds for animal welfare while keeping usable footwear out of landfills and putting it back into use around the world.
As Funds2Orgs phases out service in our region, this will be our final shoe drive.
Looking around at the bags stacked in my home and garage, I don’t see shoes.
I see thousands of acts of generosity.
I see a community that has always stepped up when animals and families needed help.
To everyone who has ever donated a pair of shoes, hosted a collection box, collected donations, transported them, sorted them, paired them, counted them, bagged them, stored them, or loaded a truck…
Thank you.
You helped make every surgery, every microchip, every vaccinated pet, and every family we assisted a little more possible.
❤️🐾👟
Because They🐾 Love Us.
Sunny Aris, Director, Founder, AnimalVillageNM
