Serving Henry County, Iowa
Our Mission:
Connecting the hands and paws of all God's creatures in Henry County to build a happier, healthier community.
September newsletter
Who We Are
All God's Creatures (AGC) is a non-profit community initiative of First Presbyterian Church for the welfare of animals and people. We see an immense need for an animal shelter in Henry County. We also see the need to befriend socially isolated neighbors like the elderly, veterans,
the incarcerated, and disabled. We believe our shelter and volunteer programming will give hope, purpose, and friendship as we connect paws and people.
The Shelter
We recently purchased a building and green space in Mt. Pleasant! We'll be working with local contractors to renovate it into the perfect space. Our facility will provide housing, medical attention, foster services, socialization and adoption services for homeless animals in Henry County, Iowa. AGC is currently consulting with local shelters, programs, and veterinarians to learn how best to design and run our shelter to provide the best experience for animals and volunteers.
Community Outreach
We are excited to provide opportunities and initiate programs to involve our community, especially those who may benefit most from making new connections and finding a greater purpose. We're actively researching ways to connect in and out of the shelter with seniors, nursing home residents, veterans, those with physical and mental disabilities, and youth.
Trap/Neuter/Release
Our TNR program has been up and running for over a year, and we've spayed/neutered 50+ stray cats in the county! This has prevented hundreds of unwanted kittens from being born into poor conditions. We transport strays to the Iowa Humane Alliance, who offers low-cost services, then return them to their location. The cat is ear-tipped, so that the public can easily identify them as neutered and vaccinated.
The big question!
The most frequently asked question we get is, "when will the shelter be open?"
The most frequently asked question we get is, "when will the shelter be open?"
As much as we'd love to throw open the doors and fill the building with cats and dogs in need of rescue, we are dedicated to ensuring that the entire project will be successful and sustainable for years to come. Opening an animal shelter from scratch requires thousands of hours of research in state laws and codes, budgeting, policies and procedures, building design and specifications, grant writing, taxes, shelter medicine, insurance policies, sources of income, and our area's specific needs just to name a few.
Our Board of Directors has worked tirelessly over the past 18 months doing just that. Overlooking any component along the way could lead to failure and we're not willing to risk the success of AGC in exchange for a hurried timeline. Along with planning all of the ins and outs of a strong shelter operation, we aim to have sufficient, substantial funding before opening the doors.
We love that you're excited. We're insanely excited, too! Just know that we're going above and beyond to bring this much needed project to Henry County as quickly as we can, without compromising its long-term success.
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