Over the past weekend, KC Pet Project partnered with two other area shelters, Wayside Waifs and Great Plains SPCA, for a metro-wide adoption event. In total, 834 pets were adopted from the three shelters, 281 of them from KC Pet Project.
It was an amazing three days, and the event allowed nearly every available pet in our shelter to find a home.
Excited, exhausted and happy with a deserved sense of accomplishment, the KC Pet Project staff and volunteers climbed into empty kennels to celebrate the very successful weekend.
Next month, I am getting the opportunity to present the KC Pet Project story at the American Pets Alive Conference in Austin (tickets are still available, so check out the link to join us!).
During my presentation, I highlight 10 keys to our success. One of those keys is "Celebrating Success".
Over the past 5 years I think the KCPP team has done an amazing job of celebrating our success -- and I believe it's important. Not only does celebrating give our staff and volunteers an opportunity to reflect on everything they are accomplishing, but it also gives our adopters and our community an opportunity to celebrate with us, and to be a part of our accomplishments.
People want to be a part of successful organizations. And people want to adopt from successful, caring and compassionate organizations. So celebrating success allows those in your community a chance to see your accomplishments, and hopefully gives them a desire to be a part of it. You need the support of your community --- so give them a reason to care and be involved.
This was particularly important for Kansas City Pet Project. When we first took over the operations of the shelter in 2012 we were a brand new organization, with no track record -- that was taking over a shelter with a history of under-performance. I really think many people expected us to fail. But over time, as we've had opportunities to celebrate success, we've given them more and more reason to believe in our success and d be a part of it.
One word of caution. Don't confuse celebrating success with telling people how great you are. People don't want to be told how great you are. Do great things and then tell people about the great things that are being accomplished and how they can be a part of it.
Update: It's also important to note that media also loves a good celebration. Our video filmed at the shelter after the event made Inside Edition.
What a great accomplishment. I love the picture.
Posted by: Jan williams | October 12, 2016 at 11:09 AM