Mike Morse recently announced a $1 million gift to our organization to help support and raise awareness of our community outreach programs aimed at keeping people and their pets together across metro Detroit. As you may already know, the Mike Morse Law Firm is Michigan Humane’s official adoption partner and has supported our organization for years.
In all the years I’ve known Mike Morse, I’ve rarely seen him without Jessi – his amazing dog and Michigan Humane alumni. When Mike approached me about what he could do to help tell our story, it made absolute sense. He is a huge animal lover who is inspired by our work. He is an authentic supporter of our mission. He is an adopter. He is a voice for our organization and has supported us financially and through his connections significantly. Mike has agreed to use his voice and visibility in the community to share our story. It is an inspiring story. It is a powerful story. It is our story.
People know us as leaders in sheltering, adoption, and animal cruelty investigations; however, it goes much further than that. I will often give tours of our facilities to donors, supporters, and advocates in the community. Regardless of how long they have been associated with the organization, the tour almost assuredly ends with them saying “I had no idea” about the complexity and depth of our programs and services and how they so deeply connect to the human condition.
Equally important to what we do is the question: why do we do it? The “what we do” and the “why we do” are simple and complex. The depth of our programs is inspiring and the reason we do them connects to all of us and is right in front of us.
Why do we operate the state’s oldest and largest animal welfare organization and one of the largest pet food pantries in the country? No one should have to decide whether they eat, or their pet eats. Yet every day, thousands of families face this heartbreaking decision. Through a unique collaborative relationship with Gleaners and Forgotten Harvest, we will distribute more than 2.5 million pounds of pet food to 10,000 families through dozens of human food distribution sites throughout metro Detroit.
Why does a 147-year-old animal welfare organization have a team of human-focused social workers? At Michigan Humane, our compassion does not end with the pet. A pet is only as healthy and safe as the family it lives with and the community it lives in. More stable environments for families are better environments for pets. We have unique access to people’s lives and have an opportunity, an obligation, to help. We currently help to connect people with services for their pet and family through one or more of our 50+ health and human service partners.
Why are we committed to equitable access to care and pet ownership? By 2030, we are devoting $38 million in subsidized care and resources to the families of metro Detroit. Pets are not just a luxury for the wealthy. I think we often have the preconceived notion that poverty equates to a lack of care. This could not be further from the truth. Detroiters love their pets. A recent Pew Research Center study found that the lower your income, the more likely you are to equate your pet as an equal member of the family. Yet, these families struggle to balance pet care with other critical needs. We can remove that worry and allow them to focus on other issues. A typical client in our pet food pantry receives an average of $466 in products and services; that’s $466 they can redistribute to other needs.
Why do we expect to have inspired 10,000 students toward the possibility of veterinary medicine as a career by 2030? Detroit can be a hub for diverse veterinary talent, and we have an opportunity to influence that. We can provide the youth of metro Detroit a pathway and a chance to see themselves in the work. In addition to our high school interns from Crocket Midtown, Detroit Cristo Rey and the Detroit International Academy for Young Women, we offer tours and presentations to students throughout metro Detroit. Further down the line, we offer a pre-vet, 1st and 2nd-year veterinary student summer jobs program that, this year, had more than 100 applicants from universities across the country. We also bring in 10-20 3rd and 4th year students for surgical/clinical rotations. We recently welcomed fifteen students from six universities to the program – 66% of which represent minority students.
Pets make our lives better. We are healthier and happier with pets. Everyone should know the joy and benefits of pet ownership. We can do this with Mike helping as our spokesperson, and with his reach and channels. We can win – because, of course, that’s what Mike does.