Crate Escape is a non-profit dog and puppy rescue organization. Its organizational presence is strongly set in the Hudson Valley of New York state, (where I am from) but its rescue activity extends all the way South, to the Carolinas. Crate Escape is purely made up of volunteers devoted to saving the lives of stray, abandoned or given up dogs. Currently I create, form and write their monthly newsletter. I do this, like everyone else, on a volunteer basis, for two reasons.
One, the more selfish and less becoming reason: because this experience looks great on a resume. Plain and simple.
Two, the more complicated, version: because volunteering for such an organization adds goodness to the world and every little bit helps. As I sat at my desk a few hours ago, beginning the newsletter for August, it occured to me how little certain things matter in the grand scheme of the world (depressing, I know, but let me explain). History books, television shows, documentaries, songs and novels immortalize those memorable people- and occasional animals- that have died hundreds or even thousands of years ago. But what about everyone else? What about that young English man forced to hide his religion under a Catholic Queen or the other young English man forced to hide his religion under a Protestant King? What about that one mother forced to watch her children starve during the famine in Ireland, Bengal, Russia, China? What about those bodies, hacked, gassed, or shot to death in history's numerous genocides? Or how about that moment when a boy swims too far out into the ocean and drowns, alone, helpless? And the people who starved, who were beaten, who were ridiculed throughout history? Why have the masses, those people without "clout" in society been ignored in life and in death? Why have their actions mattered much less in "the grand scheme?"
Unfortunately, no matter what the answer may be, the fact is, just like the people before us our lives and our deaths, will one day be forgetten, swept under the earth's muddy rug. Perhaps 100 or 1,000 years from now, we will be nothing more than the highlighted news, the wars, the groundbreaking events which affected our generation. But we will never again be individuals, with personal pains, fears and ambitions.
So, after that slightly downtrodden, bleak outlook on the world, present and past, what am I even trying to tell you? Well, I guess this is it: That since those in the future may not remember who we are, we as a people should take the years we have and do some good. In the "grand scheme," our actions may matter little, but in the present, these actions can mean so much. Let's take advantage and contribute to the memories of those ignored masses, those people and animals history will undoubtedly forget. Through social media and all this technology, it's easy to ignore that there are problems around us that we can solve or assist in solving. Someone once told me, "Charity begins in the home," which is great and truthful to an extent, but what about all those who do not have a home?
It may seem like I'm doing so little for these dogs by creating a newsletter each month, but I'm doing it because these dogs, these defenseless animals, do not have a home. I am doing what I can to help those who cannot help themselves, to help those who history will forget. As I get older, I plan on doing more for those (animals and people) who need the help others neglect to give. I know I will one day be forgotten, that my good deeds won't be engraved on some pillar or bronze statue and my portrait won't be hung in a museum. But, regardless, what I do now, what we do now, is more important than any history textbook, more important than any interpreter of events. I want to live my life doing what I can to be a successful person and that means helping myself and helping others. We have however many decades of life to make a difference, to make an impact on our surroundings, so I say: Let's try and make these years count. Children may not learn about us saving a person's life or an animal's life in school. That doesn't mean our contribution is any less.
Did that make sense? I ramble too much. I hope what I wrote doesn't sound like some "romantic" version of "We are the World." I only mean that our years are numbered, so why not spend a little time doing some good. Anyway, Crate Escape is just one way to help somehow and in case you're interested I posted their website and their facebook page below. Those in charge of the organization are wonderful to work with, and if I was able, I would help foster the dogs and puppies they rescue. There are pictures of a few dogs below that have stolen my heart!
Crate Escape Rescue Website
Crate Escape Facebook Page
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