The course will consist of in-class lectures on finding partners and sponsors, the various components of creating events, and the different types of needs communities might need. The class will be broken up into groups that will then work together to decide what type event they would like to host and find all the necessary contacts to make the event happen. Sarah, another intern and I will be there to direct them advise them and make sure they are on the right track.
Along with helping design this class with Sarah. I have been asked to create some informational material for the community. We decided to create three separate pamphlets, one on pet friendly housing in Champaign-Urbana, another one on the benefits of becoming a pet friendly housing community and the last one is material on how to be a good tenant with pets. The hope is to educate landlords on pet friendly housing and to encourage them to, not only become pet friendly, but to base their acceptance of animals on personality and not breed or weight. Many places believe that there are certain types of breeds that are more dangerous than others or that these same breeds attract the wrong kind of people. We want to break those stereotypes and inform landlords of the myths and facts about BSL. The pet friendly housing list will be offered at many locations to advertise these establishments and act as an incentive to landlords who want their names on this list. We are also providing material for landlords to hand out to new tenants as friendly reminders on being respectful of the property and other tenants.
Once all of these things are ready we plan on meeting with the tenant union and major housing companies in the area to talk to them individually on these subjects. By meeting with them we are hoping to answer any questions and clear up any pre-conceived ideas they may have.
While doing all of these community outreach projects I have also gotten the chance to help out a few of the organizations I've met with different projects and events. I was fortunate enough to accompany Sarah a few weeks back to Vermillion County Animal Control. Sarah does some volunteer work with the organization Peace for Pits which is a rescue group for pit bulls and pit bull type dogs. Vermillion County is a high kill shelter so we went there to evaluate a few dogs for potential foster. It was a lot harder than I thought because there were so many great dogs and only a few foster homes available. Not only are you behavior testing these dogs for safety but also to see if they are a good match for the foster homes available. In the end we wound up with two rambunctious pitty puppies from a hoarding situation that are now settling into their foster home well.
Another great organization I was able to help out was Country Cats. This organization works to take cats in shelters that are not suitable for living indoors, feral or not, and place them with people who are looking for outdoor cats on their property. I spent the afternoon at Antique Farm Days talking to people about the organization and trying to sign up potential caretakers for these cats. I loved getting to talk to all the people at the fair and educate them about this great organization. 
So far this internship has been a lot of fun. I'm learning a lot an developing a new appreciation for the community outreach side of the animal science industry. I hope to have more opportunities to work with the community and I look forward to what the rest of the summer brings.
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