Jusani Culture began in 2010 with an idea. Founder Melissa Salinas never forgot her first experience adopting a pet, including the desire to do more. As she describes, “I wondered how much more could be done for pets if there was more funding? How many more could be saved? How much more education could be given about caring for pets? These were the questions that helped start Jusani Culture.”
With the desire to have a more far-reaching impact on the lives of homeless pets, Melissa started Jusani by raising money for shelters through the sale of organic tees on Jusani’s website, www.jusani.com. Since then, Jusani has grown. Melissa, along with a team of interns, have started an informative blog for pet owners and lovers alike, and have used social media to let people know about their work and the efforts of the shelters they sponsor.
What was once a small online shop has become a lifestyle brand, as Jusani has come to partner with small business handicraft artists and designers to sell their unique products, ranging from clothing, accessories, and items for the home, to pet products, on Jusani’s website to raise money for animal shelters. Each quarter, Jusani raises awareness and funds for a different non-profit, no-kill U.S. animal shelter, donating five dollars of every purchase made at www.jusani.com/shop during that time to the chosen shelter. So far, Jusani has raised over $2,300 for nine organizations.
Currently, until March 31st, Jusani is helping the New Fairfield/Sherman Animal Welfare Society (NFSAW). NFSAW has been serving Connecticut since 1977, protecting animals from cruelty and neglect, sheltering and caring for homeless pets, promoting responsible pet ownership, and supporting spay/neuter advocacy as a way of tackling the problem of pet homelessness. As staff at NFSAW say, “we are proud to be able to provide the same vet care for our shelter pets as we do for our own pets.”
In recent years, NFSAW has placed an average of 200 animals a year. As a no-kill shelter, NFSAW makes every effort to rescue dogs and cats at risk of euthanasia in Connecticut and as far away as Tennessee, utilizing a network of volunteer drivers to transport animals to the safety of their shelter. But, part of the challenge of being a non-profit, no-kill shelter is, as the shelter staff describe, “engaging the public, both to donate and to volunteer! That’s why it’s so important to offer people lots of ways to help, such as programs like this one offered by Jusani.”
And Jusani is happy to be able to help! To learn more about NFSAW and the pets currently available for adoption (some of which are pictured above), visit their website at http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/nfsaw.html. To learn more about Jusani Culture or to make a purchase to support NFSAW, please visit www.jusani.com and connect with Jusani Culture on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
