Mission Statement:
Cedar Rapids AniMeals, a volunteer based nonprofit organization, provides food and spay/neuter assistance for pets of the elderly, disabled and families in need, helping them keep their companion, which greatly improves the quality of life for both.
Our History:
Cedar Rapids AniMeals has been in operation since 2000 and currently serves more than 350 human clients and over 700 pets of all types (dogs, cats, birds, fish, hamsters, etc). In addition to providing food for these pets, we provide approximately 100 subsidized spay/neuter procedures and vaccinations each year. We operate entirely on donations and the work of a dedicated group of volunteers who manage the client list and delivery schedules; collect donations; and sort, package, and deliver food.
Cedar Rapids AniMeals is an all-volunteer organization that provides food for the pets of Cedar Rapids-area elderly, disabled, and others in need – a “Meals on Wheels” program for pets. For many elderly and shut-ins, pets can be sole companions and best friends and are critical to maintaining a good quality of life. Enabling them to care for and keep their pets is a real benefit to their continued well-being.
Cedar Rapids AniMeals works in conjunction with area social service organizations who help screen our clients. With the cooperation of area veterinarians, we also provide subsidized vaccinations and spay/neuter procedures to help our clients be responsible pet owners.
Project Goals:
The focus was to create a website with a few pages of information but really focus on reaching out to volunteers and donors both locally and abroad. The goal was to give the program directors a blog to post news, updates and event reminders in a simple format. The website allowed them to store their email list in one area and eliminate the need for each program director to keep a list of emails to CC when they send an email. Plus emails no longer came from their personal email address but a server email address.
The other goals were to allow for more photos, video and connect the new website to social networking sites like Facebook & Twitter. Now anytime they post to the blog an update is automatically sent to their Facebook Fan Page and the Twitter account.
PayPal was also setup and integrated to allow online donations which was not an option with the previous website.
Website Details:
For our base site theme we chose Titanium Theme by iThemes as it had support for multiple rotating home page images, video integration and an “about us” area on the main page then two vertical columns a side bar and footer.
CRAnimeals.org is small organization that has a lot to say about a number of different items. A home page with a lot of slots for widgets was our goal! It’s a balance of form vs. function and some may feel the home page is too busy others love all the information in one place.
We also setup a PayPal donation button as the club has always taken donations by postal mail or in person. Now supporters local and abroad can make a donation to help the organization with their mission.
Social Networking:
We also setup a Facebook Fan Page and a Twitter account so any blog or news updates would be sent to the social networks to get more visitors to the site! Visit the site and follow the group via Twitter or become a Fan!
Some of the plugins we used for this site are:
Event Calendar – Post upcoming events using the blog Post dashboard!
Add to Any:Share/Bookmark/Email Button – Share website info with your favorite social networking sites or bookmarking
FollowMe – A cool Twitter widget in the right corner of the web browser window
Subscribe2 – Email management to announce updates to volunteers and supporters
There were many other backend plugins used for SEO, Google Sitemaps, XML and backup.
In Closing
To learn more about this organization and the great cause they support visit http://CRAnimeals.com and sign up for the newsletter or make a donation online.
For additional information or questions about this website design, plugins and more contact us!
http://BurgerHomesDevelopment.com
