Hi everyone!
First off, I hope you and your loved ones are doing great
and enjoying a beautiful summer! ☀️ This is my favorite time of
year—but honestly, it still feels like mine hasn’t even started yet.
I’ve included a few things Rich and I have been working on
lately, like our Small Talk Newsletter and our Small Talk Podcast.
They're a great way to share information and updates and connect with more
people in the community. We'd love for you to check them out and subscribe!
There’s A LOT to catch you up on, so this message is
LONG—thanks for hanging in with me! We have a Zoom meeting scheduled for next
week to discuss what’s in this email and to answer any questions (see the last
page for details).😊 Ok, here we go!
SMALL TALK NEWSLETTER –
INTRODUCING A COMMUNITY CORNER!
We’re excited to share the latest edition of Small
Talk with Rich & Lisa, —our periodic newsletter packed with local
updates, real estate insights, helpful resources, and the latest from Delco
Loves Animals! 🐾
We’re also launching a brand-new section called Community
Corner, where we’ll feature local stories, announcements, events, even
local businesses in Delco and anything that brings our neighbors together. If
you—or someone you know—has news to share, we’d love to hear from you!
To submit something for Community Corner, email us
at richsmallteam@gmail.com with
the subject line: Small Talk Newsletter: Community Corner
To subscribe and receive future issues, just email us with
the subject line: Subscribe to Small Talk Newsletter and we’ll happily
add you to the list.
Please note: All submissions will be reviewed to ensure they’re a good
fit for our publication.
SMALL TALK PODCAST
Our newest podcast episode of Small Talk
with Rich & Lisa is live! We dusted off the mics (actually, we
couldn’t find them) and we’re excited to get our podcast up and running—this
time, more often. And we want you to join the conversation. We’ll be going LIVE
from here on out to give listeners a chance to call in with a comment or
question. Do you have a fun or funny story?
Passion project? A local business? Have a favorite topic
you’d like to talk about? Whether you're a local neighbor, pet lover, local
business professional or owner, or someone with something to say, we’d love to
have you on as a guest. Text or call us at 484-388-9259 if you're
interested (or if you know someone who’d be great)!
🐾 PROTECT THE
PAWS: CHANGE THE LAW PETITION* 🖊️
This petition
was initiated by Bernadetta Smith. We thank Bernadetta for bringing this
to our attention after a frustrating and disheartening experience involving
local ordinances that prohibit feeding stray animals and allow roaming pets to
go unaddressed. These kinds of laws make it harder for animal advocates and
volunteers to do the right thing—and they stand in the way of meaningful
progress in reducing the stray pet population across Delaware County.
We are to help carry each other’s burdens so we’re calling
on community members, animal lovers, and local leaders to come together and support
change. Let’s work toward consistent, compassionate ordinances across all
municipalities that protect animals and empower those trying to help.
📢 Please read,
sign, and share the petition to help us get the attention of the right
decision-makers so we can start making a real difference—together. Thank you
for being a voice for the voiceless.
As of the writing of this email we’re up to 286 signatures
on the petition. We’d like to hit at least 1,000 before we take it to the next
step. We need your help sharing this.
*COUNTY-WIDE MEETING
Delco Loves Animals is planning a community-wide meeting to bring
attention to the urgent issues surrounding stray animals and outdated
ordinances that are making it harder for us—and others—to help. We’re inviting local
politicians, council members, mayors, and community leaders to join us for
an open and productive discussion about how current local laws are impacting
efforts to feed, care for, and reduce the stray pet population in Delaware
County. Our goal is to work together toward compassionate, consistent solutions
that support both animal welfare and community needs. We’re also working to get
this meeting covered in local news outlets to ensure public awareness
and engagement. We’ll need a large space to have this meeting so if your
borough or township has a large community center that would work, please let us
know. More details will be shared soon—we hope you’ll join us, spread the word,
and be part of the change!
OUR NEXT PET FOOD PANTRY
Our upcoming Pet Food Pantry for this month will be July
27th, and our co-sponsor is once again Prospect United Methodist
Church in Prospect Park (see attached flyer). A huge THANKS to Michelle Towey
and Prospect United for saving the day and for co-sponsoring another pet food
pantry.
DLA’S CALENDAR OF EVENTS I CO-SPONSOR STILL NEEDED FOR
DECEMBER
o
July 27th
:
Prospect United Methodist Church - CONFIRMED
o August 24th or 31st: Grace
Reformed Episcopal Church - Waiting for confirmation
o
September 27th: Table
at Brookhaven Family Day - CONFIRMED
o
September 28th: Collingdale
Firehouse - Waiting for confirmation
o
October 26th:
RealChurch Brookhaven - 301 Edwards Dr, Brookhaven, PA 19015 CONFIRMED
o November:
Possible Vendor Event - Waiting for confirmation – Nov. 23rd
or 30th
o
December:
OPEN December 21st or 28th
Please note we have changed the collection of donations and the
pantry times. The time will either be from 12:30pm -2pm for donation drop-offs
and 1:30pm – 2:30pm for the pantry OR 1:00pm -2:30pm for donation drop-offs and
2:00pm – 3:00pm for the pantry.
Once we receive all the confirmations, we’ll post this
list on our blog and on the Delco Loves Animals Facebook page. If you know of a
municipality, business or church who would like to co-sponsor a Pet Food Pantry
in December, please let us know. Thanks!
DONATIONS
A big thank you to everyone who’s donated pet food
and supplies—including those who’ve sent items through our Amazon
Wish List! Your kindness is making a real difference for local pets,
fosters, feeders, and the families who love them. We truly appreciate all the
support coming in. That said, the need is still there. Our DLA Pet Food
Pantry continues to serve more pets every month, and we could really use
your help to keep it going strong.
Here’s how you can pitch in:
· Know a local business, church, or community group that might collect pet food for
us? We’ll provide a bin with a lid and handle the rest!
· Share our Amazon Wish List with your friends, neighbors, and online communities.
Every single donation helps. Remember, this is a county-wide effort to help
reduce the stray pet population in Delaware County, and it’s a huge
undertaking. The Pet Food Pantry helps us identify those who are in need to
spaying and neutering their pets.
· Our
Amazon
Wish List
Thanks again to everyone who’s given this month—or in
months past. Your support means so much to us and to so many, and we couldn’t
do this without you.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We’ve Got Volunteer Opportunities – Want to Get Involved? 🐾
To kick off our volunteer opportunities we’ll be holding a
Zoom meeting just for volunteers. We’ll discuss this during our next Zoom
meeting on July 24th (see below). Whether or not you’ve filled out
our online volunteer form, you’re welcome to join this meeting.
Here are some of the ways you can help:
1.
Pet Food Pantry Support
o
Set
up and clean up before/after pantries
o
Bag
the pet food and supplies
o
Greet
and check in donors and participants
o
Review
enrollment forms and spay/neuter records
o
Pick
up refreshments (Dunkin'/Wawa – pre-paid/donated)
o
Pick
up and organize donations
2.
Outreach
o
Contact
local businesses, municipalities, and churches to introduce DLA and to ask them
about co-sponsoring a pantry and placing a pet food donation bin
o
Attend
local council meetings if needed
o
Reach
out to local news outlets (Daily Times, Spirit News, etc.)
3.
Communication & Admin Help
o
Manage
emails and help schedule meetings
o
Host
Zoom meetings (when needed)
o
Make
phone calls
o
Send
thank-you cards (we’ll provide cards and stamps)
o
Enter
donor and participant info into our database
4.
Promotions
o
Help
with social media posts
o
Distribute
flyers
o
Staff
a table at local events
o
Contact
rescues about bringing adoptable pets to our pet food pantry days
o
Help
organize vendor events/pet food pantries
…and more as we grow! If you’re ready to lend a hand or
have questions, feel free to reply or reach out. Every small effort makes a big
difference—for both people and pets in our community.
ADOPTABLE PETS
At one of our pantries, we had adoptable cats, and it went
well – Thank you, Jules Clevenger and Steve! The cats were adorable and were
well behaved. We’d like to have adoptable pets at every pantry, if possible, to
draw more people to our events.
Thank you, Sue Spinello at the Spayed Club who has
provided insurance for the day, which allowed us to have adoptable pets. They
may be willing to provide insurance for the day for any rescue who doesn’t have
it so that we can open this opportunity up to more rescues. Please get in touch
if you’re interested.
NON-PROFIT
I recently took a week-long class at the Non-Profit
Institute though the University of Penn. It was excellent. There’s a lot
involved and Rich and I wanted to know what we were getting into before jumping
in. We are grateful to the great advice we’ve already received from those
concerned and those who have been helping us sort it all out. Thank you to
everyone who advised us and gave us food for thought. We want to know
everything we can about non-profit organizations so that we can run it
properly, smoothly, and well. If anyone is interested in taking this class,
they hold it twice a year. Let me know and I’ll send you the contact
information.
BOARD MEMBERS
We will soon be starting the process of choosing board
members. Therefore, if you told us you were interested, we’ll be contacting you
to set up a time to meet. We would like to have at least 5 board members. I was
advised in a recent class I took (see below) to have background checks done and
applications on each member at the expense of each applicant. There will be
requirements to be a board member, and it will be a working board. If you’re
interested, please let us know as soon as possible. County councilwoman,
Christine Reuther, has agreed to meet with potential board members with us. She
has represented many non-profit organizations. She also offered to write our
by-laws, which was very generous. Please also see below under “How DLA will be
run.”
HOW DLA WILL BE LED MOVING FORWARD
We’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on how we want Delco
Loves Animals (DLA) to grow and move forward, and we feel it’s important to be
clear and transparent with everyone involved.
As founders, our faith in God through Jesus Christ plays a
central role in our lives, in the way we do business, how we treat others, and
now in the way we lead this organization. We will begin and end our board
meetings with prayer, and we will continue to seek God's wisdom, guidance, and
strength as we take on the enormous challenge of helping residents and animals
in our community. We believe and rely on this truth: That with God, all things
are possible—even the overwhelming issue of stray overpopulation in Delco,
which we recognize is far bigger than any of us alone.
That said, we want to be clear: we are not asking or
expecting everyone involved with DLA to share our personal beliefs. What we do
ask is for the freedom to express our faith without criticism, and to be
respected for who we are and the values we bring to this work. Unfortunately,
we've had a few experiences where this hasn’t always been the case, so we feel
it’s important to be upfront about it. At the same time, this doesn’t mean
we’re above accountability. Just like anyone else, we welcome respectful feedback
and want to be held to high standards. Our shared goal—helping animals in
need—is one that unites us all, regardless of our backgrounds or beliefs. We’re
incredibly grateful for each person who chooses to walk this path with us. We
hope you’ll continue to be part of the journey.
ZOOM MEETING
We’re holding a Zoom meeting on Thursday, July 24th
at 7pm to discuss the contents of this email, listen to anyone’s thoughts,
concerns or ideas, and answer any questions. We hope you can join us.
Topic: Delco Loves Animals Update Meeting I
Time: Jul 24, 2025, at 7:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85960345109?pwd=azjbQJ4b8k7qioc35xwFrSbwVcT4FO.1
Meeting ID: 859 6034 5109 I Passcode: 567849
