Happy New Year, friends! Have you started jotting down your New Year’s resolutions yet? In 2025, we want to make an even bigger impact on animals’ lives across the country and we’re hoping you’ll join us by resolving to help animals this year. Want to join us? Here are five ways you can help animals in the new year.

1. Adopt!

Adopting is a huge way to help vulnerable animals — and shelters too! By giving just one animal a loving home, you open up space in the shelter for another animal to receive the care they need. You can adopt an animal through the ASPCA in New York City, Los Angeles, Asheville, North Carolina, and Columbus, Ohio. You can also visit your local shelter or our friends at Animal Care Centers of NYC!

2. Become a Foster Caregiver.

If adoption feels like too big of a commitment, that’s okay! You can try fostering instead. Fostering helps to give you hands-on experience with having a pet in your home while also giving your foster pet a chance to decompress outside of the shelter and experience life in a loving home — maybe for the first time. You can foster for the ASPCA in New York City or the tri-state area, Los Angeles, Asheville, North Carolina or Columbus, Ohio. Not in one of these areas? Sign up with your local shelter or our friends at Animal Care Centers of NYC!

3. Donate Needed Supplies or Funds.

No matter the size of your local shelter, most organizations always appreciate donations of vital supplies like towels, blankets, toys or unopened pet food. Call ahead or check their social media to see what items are most in demand so you’re offering the greatest assistance given their specific and seasonal needs.

Additionally, many local shelters rely on their communities for financial support. By donating funds, hosting a digital fundraiser or asking for donations in lieu of birthday or other gifts, you can make a world of difference for your local shelter. You can find your local shelter here: aspca.org/findashelter

You can also donate needed supplies to ASPCA programs through our Wish Lists.

4. Volunteer!

If you’re not in a position to donate supplies or funds, try donating your time! Most shelters have volunteer programs to assist with a variety of needs like daily care or walks. At the ASPCA, we’re always looking for a variety of volunteers including volunteers for our National Field Response team to help us during natural disasters or cruelty cases, advocacy volunteers to help us pass animal-friendly legislation, volunteers to assist at our shelters across the country and folks to join our Horse Action Team to help us meet our goal of banning horse slaughter for good.

5. Join Our Mobile Action Team.

A great way to stay engaged all year round is by joining the ASPCA Mobile Action Team. This special group of supporters springs into action when animals need them most. By signing up, you’ll receive text message alerts about immediate advocacy actions you can take to help animals, breaking news including emergency animal rescue cases and useful pet-related content, safety alerts and adoptable animals.

Thank you for supporting animals this year and every year! We can’t wait to see what we’ll do together in 2025!