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How HSE University Helps Stray Animals
© HSE University
HSE faculties and student charities regularly hold events in support of stray shelters and charitable foundations. HSE Life covers these university initiatives and shares how you can start doing good deeds right now.
‘Remember that When There Are Many of Us, It's Easy to Help’
In November, students, teachers, and the administration of the HSE School of Foreign Languages collected the necessary food, medicines, and other supplies for the Biryulyovo municipal shelter for stray dogs and cats, which houses almost 2,500 dogs and 150 cats.
The charity event started with the opening of a photo exhibition featuring the pets of school staff at the HSE building on Staraya Basmannaya. Animal rights activist and volunteer Yulia Grevtseva took part in the initiative. Her speech on ‘Every Life Matters: How I Can Help a Stray Animal’ aroused particular interest among the audience.
The organisers managed to collect a large amount of food, treats, medicines, animal treatment products, diapers, toys (including handmade ones), and equipment. ‘We came to the shelter with bags of food, toys, and medicines. I think it's great that we managed to organise such an event in the middle of a busy November. I hope this is not a one-off campaign and that we won’t stop helping, because it is very painful to see animals that have no home, but really want love,’ said Elizaveta Babasyan, Chairman of the Student Council of the School of Foreign Languages, 4th-year undergraduate student.
Anyone can do a good deed at any time by giving food and necessary items to the shelter, assisting in spreading information about the activities of shelters and their wards, or simply giving the animals some attention and time. ‘Remember that when there are many of us, it’s easy to help. We hope that our example will inspire others!’ says Polina Yakupova, 3rd-year undergraduate student.
‘Walking Is Necessary to Help Animals Adapt to Humans’
The HSE Outreach student organisation goes to the Nekrasovka dog shelter twice a month. The main purpose of these trips is to help stray animals socialise. Some of the animals arriving at the shelter have no experience of walks or healthy interaction with people in general, so walking with a volunteer allows the dogs to get used to the presence of people and other dogs. On request, volunteers bring food, leashes, medicines, various treats, canned food, and buckwheat to the shelter.
‘I really enjoyed the trip to the shelter. It was clean, tidy, the dogs were well-groomed and well-fed. The dogs are not aggressive towards people,’ says Polina Ananina, volunteer, 4th-year student of the programme in International Relations. ‘Our task was to walk as many dogs as possible, and it turned out to be quite easy and pleasant. There is a large forest near the shelter, where volunteers walk with animals. We found out that walking dogs is necessary to help them adapt to humans, so it's better to have as much contact with them as possible.’
Anyone interested can join the trips, including those looking to overcome their fears or their unpleasant experiences with dogs in the past. You can sign up for a trip in the HSE Outreach group in VK.
Another HSE charity organisation is ‘Open Your Eyes’, which helps three shelters: ‘Laskovy Zver’ (‘Gentle Beast’), and shelters in Solntsevo and Biryulyovo. All year round, volunteers collect necessary items, visit the animals about twice a month on weekends, walk with them, and bring them everything they need. ‘This is a great joy for them, because shelter workers do not have enough resources to walk the dogs often. The feeling of gratitude that our furry friends feel during a walk is simply impossible to convey; this is a great opportunity for those who love animals and want to help them,’ says Alisa Muskina, 1st-year student of the programme in Design. The next trip is planned for January 2024. To participate, join the organisation's VK group and follow the announcements.
Woof-Raf Campaign Supporting the NIKA Stray Animal Help Foundation
For the last 12 years, the NIKA Foundation has helped dogs and cats in difficult circumstances or who have been injured as a result of abuse. NIKA's two shelters host more than 900 animals. Every month, the foundation goes through more than nine tons of food for the animals.
To support the foundation, the HSE Centre for Leadership and Volunteer Work and Drugaya Coffeynya (‘Other Coffee Shop’), have created the unique WOOF Raf menu featuring four drinks, 25% of the proceeds of which will be donated to the charity. For each cup of coffee bought, the foundation will receive enough funds for one kilogram of food. Also, as part of the campaign, you can buy cute postcards from the designer of the Centre for Leadership and Volunteer Work. All funds raised will be directed to the NIKA Foundation. You can help the foundation—and enjoy delicious coffee at the same time—until December 31 at Drugaya Coffeynya on 21/4 Staraya Basmannaya str., building 2. For more details, please see the website (in Russian).
Until December 22, on weekdays from 12 pm to 6 pm, you can bring food, medicines and much more to the central atrium at HSE University on Pokrovka to support the foundation’s two shelters. Anyone who helps animals will be entered into a lottery to win merchandise from the Centre for Leadership and Volunteer Work or coffee drips from Drugaya Coffeynya. For more details about the collection, please see the Telegram channel of the Centre for Leadership and Volunteer Work.