(Trying to) Walk In A Winter Wonderland

Who knew trees could grow in an elementary school gym? Certainly not us. We wish they'd grow right out of their storage containers all by themselves but so far we've had no luck.

We're going through our trees and wreaths, trying to figure out what we have, and if we have enough for this project of ours. Charlie Brown has definitely deposited a few of his trees around the gym but that's not slowing us down. We know how to spruce anything up---even an evergreen! (Oh how we love tree humor.)


If you know of a business/office/whatever that wants to "host" a tree or wreath, please contact us via this blog, Facebook, or email us at PresentsForPawsSTL@gmail.com and we will get you set up. We can use one of these trees fresh out of a school gymnasium (with a get-out-of school note, of course), or we can use your tree. Whatever works.  If you have a wreath or a tree you'd like to donate (6ft or shorter), we'd love that too.


Or just spread the news and share this blog and get the word out about this project. It helps so many animals and this year it will help Gateway Pet Guardians, Stray Rescue, CARE STL, Five Acres Animal Shelter, People and Pets in Need (PAPIN). These are deserving groups that could use exposure and donations from the trees.

Plus, we just really want each of these trees to find a home for the holidays---that home being a business hosting the tree to help Presents for Paws!

Day 4 of National Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week---Five Acres Animal Shelter

National Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week forges on and we continue to tip our caps to the men and women who save animals and bring them into the rescue world. Five Acres is exactly one of those groups. Their dedication to furbabies is obvious as soon as you see them interact with animals. We love it!

Five Acres Animal Shelter is the only no kill shelter in the St. Charles area. They provide the gift of hope, love, and compassionate care to orphaned animals while searching for their forever families.

In addition to sheltered care, Five Acres also operates the AniMeals program to help the community by providing pet food and supplies to low-income families. What a well-rounded group who helps both animals and people!

Looking for ways to volunteer or adopt? Check out https://www.fiveacresanimalshelter.org/

Day 3 of National Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week---Stray Rescue of Saint Louis

Day 3 of National Animal Shelter And Rescue Appreciation Week just slid right by us. Woops! It was because we were busy doing so much appreciating that we didn't have time to post about our 3rd day's featured shelter...and that was a TRAVESTY! But we'll do that now.

This shelter is one that is synonymous with St. Louis and their work helping strays. But they do so much more than that too. Here's a little more info.

Stray Rescue is a local organization assisting stray animals with much-needed care when they have nowhere else to turn. They nurse medically fragile animals back to health, build their spirits and place them into adoptive homes, and give them a second lease on life.

Interested in giving back? Contact https://www.strayrescue.org/

Day 2 of National Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week---Gateway Pet Guardians

It's Day 2 of NASARW or so we've started calling it because we're really sick of typing/saying it all out. However, what we're not sick of are these shelters and rescues who are doing everything they can to help dogs and cats in need (and maybe a bunny or two along the way).

Today's rescue is Gateway Pet Guardians, or GPG, as they're often known. They have a small shelter in Dogtown but recently purchased an old school in East St. Louis that they're transforming into a new shelter. How cool is that?

Gateway Pet Guardians strives to end homelessness for cats and dogs in the East St. Louis area. Not only does this organization focus on rescuing & rehabilitating strays, they partner with the community to bring much-needed pet support to the otherwise "resource desert" in order to keep pets with their people.

Interested in volunteering, fostering or adopting one of these cuties or one of their many others? Contact https://www.gatewaypets.org/

Celebrating National Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week by not saying that long name all week long!

t's National Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week and we at Presents for Paws are ALL about rescue and animal welfare. 

So all week we will be highlighting the groups that benefit this year from Presents for Paws. Forget who they are? <Drumroll please> In no particular order...

• Center for Animal Rescue and Enrichment (CARE) of St. Louis
• Gateway Pet Guardians
• Stray Rescue of St. Louis
• https://www.fiveacresanimalshelter.org/
• People and Pets in Need (PAPIN)

Today we're featuring CARE STL, which is newer on the scene, but the staff and volunteers are seasoned rescuers who love what they do. They rescue dogs and cats but their hearts are so big that they've even rescued a few rabbits and gerbils along the way!

CARE STL provides open intake, no kill animal care for the City of St. Louis. They work to care for and rehabilitate companion animals so they can be match with their forever families- pairing animals and humans to better each other!  

They have specialty programs such as animal enrichment, animal hospice care, and youth development.

These are just some of the cuties looking for a new home with CARE STL. Check out their website at https://www.icarestl.org/ for many more snuggly friends and to find out more about this amazing group,

It's Almost Heeeeerrrrreeee!

It's that time of year again. Time to eat full bags of Halloween candy 2 weeks before trick-or-treating begins only to restock again before the kids come. Time to TP your neighbor's house because "it's okay since it's Halloween." It's also time to start thinking about Presents for Paws!

Believe it or not in about a month those trees and wreaths you love so much will start going up all over the STL Metro area with pictures of lovable (and adoptable) dogs and cats from local rescues. Their pleading eyes and adorable poses will beg you to donate to the cause and we will thank you for doing so.

Keep an eye out for our trees and wreaths and let us know if you have a location that would be willing to host a tree or wreath. The best locations are places where people come back regularly, like gyms, coffee shops, grocery stores, etc., or where they could buy the item(s) there--like a grocery store or pet store. But of course, all locations are welcome!

Thank you to St. Louis for once again supporting us and our mission to raise awareness about animal welfare, find homes for these adorable animals, and gather as many donations as possible for local groups.

Can't wait for another great year!

If you want to contact us, please email presentsforpawsSTL@gmail.com

We can't wait to get started!

The P4P Team

Welcome to Presents for Paws!

Although we started in 2011, we are only just now getting around to setting up a website. Please don't judge! (And please tell us what a hashtag is!)

As you may know, Presents for Paws is an angel tree project that is put on by volunteers of different animal welfare groups in the St. Louis community. It benefits various groups on both the Illinois and Missouri sides of the Metro. Although it's a donation drive, it also seeks to bring awareness to animal welfare and rescue, along with promoting volunteering, fostering, adopting, along with simply getting involved in the community! (Oh, and still donating some items on our wish list too!)

We put up trees in local stores, gyms, coffee shops, etc. The trees are decorated with 3x3 cardstock "ornaments" that have photos of adoptable dogs and cats from local shelters. On the back of the ornaments are wish lists of items that each rescue needs. To participate, people simply donate items on the wish list. People can also contact any of the groups if they're interesting in fostering, adopting, volunteering, etc.

St. Louis has embraced Presents for Paws and so many wonderful stores and vendors have been supportive in hosting these trees and wreaths. We are lucky to have such a wonderful animal-loving community.

This project is a lot of fun---to host, to volunteer with, to donate to, and to watch the donations come in. Every aspect is so rewarding because everyone wins. From the animals and shelters who receive the donations to the young child who learns about kindness through picking out a donation. We couldn't do Presents for Paws without the community and we are lucky to have such a great one.

Here's to our 9th year St. Louis! We know it will be a good one.

The P4P Team