Curry College Lends a Paw to Friends of the Plymouth Pound

Public Relations students always need a project on which to practice. This semester  Plymouth Campus students took on .

"The best way to learn is hands on, or in this case a 'paws' on approach," Kirsten Whitten said.

Whitten, a public relations professor is teaching the principles of public relations to a group of continuing education students at Curry. 

The students were able to choose any nonprofit organization and put together a public relations plan to assist in the areas which needed the most work. 

They quickly decided on the Friends of the Plymouth Pound. As part of the class’s detailed and comprehensive plan, the students designed a new and improved FPP website which will launch this summer. The public relations project was presented to FPP Board of Director members in their evening classroom May 3. 

"It is so nice to have a new energy involved with FPP," FPP President Gayle Fitzpatrick said.

Beth Hennessy, a long time volunteer and officer of the Friends of the Plymouth Pound explained to the students during the coursework that donations, volunteers and awareness of their new location at the Independence Mall in Kingston are among the organization’s biggest concerns.

While they have two big events each year -- the "Golf Fore Paws" Tournament at the Squirrel Run Golf Club in Plymouth Saturday, May 26, and the Pet Walk-A-Thon held early September -- they are still not able to provide enough money to support all of the needs to assist the animals.

In addition, the new location at the Independence Mall is in need of volunteers. After last year’s theft of a kitten, the adoption center must maintain at least two volunteers on duty at all times; so in order to keep the shelter open daily, the hours must be limited to noon to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Prospective volunteers may fill out volunteer applications at the FPP adoption center in the Mall. 

Friends of the Plymouth Pound have been "Creating Forever Homes & Happy Tails" since 1989. The mission of the Friends of the Plymouth Pound has been to reduce over-population of forgotten animals (stray cats and dogs) throughout the South Shore through foster care and adoption in order to find loving, caring "forever homes for adoptable animals." The Friends of the Plymouth Pound also aims to reduce the feral population through a fix-a-feral program, where they trap, spay, neuter and release feral animals. The organization also provides nutrition, health and medical care services for animals in crisis including examinations, inoculations, tests, surgeries and prescription medication.

Friends of the Plymouth Pound was started in 1985 by a small group of concerned citizens assisting the animal control officer in the historic town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Since its incorporation in 1989, the mission has been to reduce pet overpopulation through adoption and foster care, low-cost spaying/neutering assistance, and educational outreach. For more information, to make a donation or download the pledge form visit our current website at http://gis.net/~fpp or by calling 508-224-6651.

--From the Friends of the Plymouth Pound