“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.”
-Sir Cecil Beaton
Unleashed believes in the power and potential of girls. It’s designed to bring out the leader in every girl.
Animal Welfare and Rescue is our Training Ground
Unleashed is an after school experiential leadership program for middle school girls that uses a social change curriculum focused on puppy rescue and welfare. Girls feel passionately that animal cruelty is an injustice and the Unleashed program gives them hands on experience with the entire process of puppy rescue. The dogs create a common purpose, enabling girls to collaborate despite any differences.
Key Elements of the Program
- Groups of 10 to 15 girls work with two female coaches after school once per week for 12–15 weeks.
- Through discussions and team exercises, girls identify personal strengths, improve communication skills, gain strategies for conflict resolution, and explore what it means to be an effective leader.
- Each girl assists in at least one animal rescue by selecting adoptable puppies from overcrowded shelters, arranging for their transportation to New York, and seeking out adoptive homes.
- At weekend adoption events, girls have an opportunity to interact with the dogs and to meet with potential adopters to provide information and tips to increase the likelihood that the puppy will stay in the adoptive home and adjust effectively.
- Throughout the program, girls design and execute a campaign to raise awareness about animal welfare. They also plan and carry out fundraising activities to support an organization, project, or activity of their choosing.
- The girls learn to think critically about the larger social issues underlying animal mistreatment. They conduct research, come up with large-scale solutions to the problem of animal mistreatment, and present their ideas to their peers and families at a program graduation event.
Unleashed II
Unleashed II is a 12 week program where girls can learn how to write a petition; be on an advisory board providing important feedback to Unleashed; create a “Puppies with purpose” project enabling our pups to be change agents and learn the skills necessary to effectively fundraise.
The first twelve participants are busy researching and preparing petitions to address two causes they feel passionately about: “Establishing laws that prohibit the sale of dogs and cats in NYC”, and petitioning the “Petsmart” chain to stop selling choke or spike collars. This is a big undertaking so stay tuned for the outcome.
