Hi, my name is Beth Bates, and I’m the President of Web Strategies Internet Solutions and also the President and Founder of GoodDogz.org.

We started GoodDogz.org back in 2003 because we really saw a void in the rescue community. I had volunteered for a couple of rescue groups, and while they were doing a great job rescuing animals, we saw that they were lacking in marketing support, it was tough to recruit volunteers, and really have that kind of volunteer retention. So, we decided to kinda fill that void by starting GoodDogz.org and offering support services for these rescue groups.

Those support services kinda came in the way of hosting large-scale dog adoption events, having online resources, having workshops for volunteers, and really trying to help volunteers understand that they weren’t out there alone. As a result of that, our organization really grew where we were not only having these large-scale adoption events but also kind of working with these adoption groups on their own to help them find adoptive homes and really try to boost their adoptions as well as their volunteer recruitment and retention. So, that’s kind of where it started.

Over the years it’s just kind of morphed into an online community of people who are trying to help each other through dog adoption and also kind of supporting rescue groups locally.

So, when I really started thinking about having a nonprofit group, I also, I didn’t want it to be separate from what I did from day to day. When I really thought it through I thought that marketing and online resources was a great way to kind of marry what I did on a daily basis through technology and through marketing engagement with being able to help these rescue groups and being able to help get dogs adopted, ultimately. It ended up being a really good merging of two things that I really loved and enjoy doing being able to be beneficial to the community while also giving me some sense of satisfaction as a person.

After 16 years of doing work in the nonprofit sector, specifically with animal welfare, I think one of the things that keeps me going is, honestly, and this is pretty simple, but my love for animals. I think you can get really tied up in the day to day and the issues and the frustrations that you have within a nonprofit, but when you see animals get adopted, that’s such a good feeling that it really helps you kinda keep moving. I think it’s also helpful when you see people who are really struggling and having a hard time ’cause animal welfare is a, it’s a tough business. To see them be able to thrive and also get enjoyment out of that ultimate adoption and seeing a dog that was in a terrible situation go to a great home that it’ll be in for, hopefully, for the rest of its life, that’s a really good thing and that’s a nice thing to be able to see for folks that are working so hard.

I guess my one piece of advice for folks that are looking to get involved in the community, either with a nonprofit, with a community movement, with anything, really, is don’t feel like it’s an insurmountable thing. If you see a problem and you really want to help be part of the solution, you can take small steps that can make a big change. You know, contact your local nonprofit. Contact your local animal shelter. Get involved. Volunteer a couple of days a week. That little bit that you can give back really makes a huge difference.

And if you’re really committed, you can get involved by starting your own movement. Start a nonprofit. It’s not as difficult as you’d think. But I think that you really need to be committed to doing it. I see a lot of rescue groups, specifically, that kinda come and go because they just, people don’t have enough time or they don’t have the patience to put into it. But I think that if you’re committed you can make a huge change just by taking that one small step forward.

One thing that GoodDogz.org does within the Winchester community is we are the benefactor for the Hop Blossom Craft Beer Festival. My husband Mark and I, six years ago, decided again that we wanted a beer festival in Winchester, so we took that first step towards making that actually happen. And it was a bit of a rough road trying to bring that into downtown Winchester. We were able to make that happen and the beer festival happens once a year. All of the proceeds go toward animal welfare. This year it will go towards GoodDogz.org and Dakota’s Dream. I think it’s a really good local representation of wanting to make something happen, taking that step, and then having a great event that people enjoy.

So, I think my best memory was when we first adopted our first dog, Katie, who was a Jack Russell Terrier, who was a complete and total nightmare, while we loved her dearly. When we adopted her she was the only dog that we had for awhile, but she really led to multiple dogs that have traveled through our household that were all adopted, that were all amazing and terrible and lovable all in their own way. So, while having that connection with the community through GoodDogz.org, it’s also awesome to be able to kind of have that personal feeling of having wonderful dogs pass through your life, and we hope that we have a ton more.

GoodDogz.org serves the metro DC area, so we’re helping organizations in Virginia, DC, Maryland, and now that my husband and I have moved out to the Shenendoah Valley, local rescue groups, as well. If you’re a rescue group and you’d like to reach out to GoodDogz.org, you can go to our website at GoodDogz.org. You could reach us at info@gooddogz.org by email or you can give us a call at 571-233-4557.

GoodDogz.org helps rescue groups with marketing. We help folks with online support. If you have an event that you would like to host but are not quite sure how to get started, we can help with that. We do help rescue groups find volunteers, and we are more than happy to help you out. So, as a last note, I think everybody should follow their passion. And again, if you see something that you think that you can improve or you see something in your community that you can help with, go ahead and take that step. It might be scary, you might hesitate, but making that move will be the right choice, and you’ll be glad that you did.