Join the Young Vets Club
I recently found the perfect present for our animal-loving son, a gift that keeps on giving, all over the world. Let me tell you more about it...
What type of gifts can you give to a son who is, quite simply, animal mad? There’s always the stuffed cuddly toy, a trip to the zoo, live animal party, plastic (cringe) moulded animal toys, books and games. The list could go on but are these gifts encouraging his love for animals and their protection? Not in the real terms of animal welfare.
That’s when I discovered the local Dorset based charity Worldwide Veterinary Service. The charity has a Young Vets Club for children to join, encouraging them to be a part of all the important work that the charity does.
WVS is an animal welfare charity that was founded by vet Luke Gamble in 2003, in response to the overwhelming demand for veterinary care and resources in certain areas of the world. Luke's solution was to create an international organisation that could collate veterinary resources and direct them to assist animal charities and non-profit organisations around the globe. Since then, the team have been striving to be at the frontline of animal welfare, helping animals where no-one else can.
So why introduce a Young Vets Club? The charity understands how important it is to educate young vets at heart, from an early age. Animal welfare plays a huge part in the world’s eco structure and the sooner us humans realise we live and share this world together with animals, the better. Recent research has shown that people feel better when they share their lives with animals - even the household dog is said to help aid anxiety, loneliness and depression. With the natural world in dire straits from issues such as ocean damage from plastic, as well as certain animals being close to extinction, we as parents should try to grow and nurture our children’s desire to help animals, before it’s too late.
So, we decided to join the Young Vets Club and for just £30 a year we felt it was money well spent. Not only did we assist in funding vital equipment and services required for projects such as saving overworked donkeys in India, treating wounded elephants and rescuing orphaned monkeys, we also helped to pay for vets training and sending out teams of volunteers.
The membership pack is championed by Kingsley, a friendly lion from Botswana and Jess a CBeeBies presenter. In the pack we received a stuffed toy, a very important membership card, a fun and educational vet adventurer handbook with stories of the good work the WVS do, a book marker, stickers, useful fact cards, fundraising leaflets and ideas on how you can become more involved. We also received a sponsorship pack on the animal we have helped to support – ours being a rescue dog, which could not have been a better match, as just earlier in the year we had chosen to adopt a rescue dog. The picture of the dog we have sponsored is now on our son’s bedroom wall, acting as a constant reminder of the kindness shown by us as a family towards animals all over the world.
There are so many ways you can help the charity continue its great work such as joining the WVS membership organisation, encouraging your vet’s practice to join, organising a fundraiser or a talk at your school. You can even join the community online, make a poster or just simply spread the word by sharing this article…
To find our more visit: https://wvs.org.uk/youngvetsclub