Over the past two years, state Sen. Troy Singleton has held 26 Serve with Senator Singleton events, amounting to more than 1,000 hours of volunteering. This month, the senator will hold a supply drive to collect items for the Burlington County Animal Shelter.
Singleton said in exploring ideas for upcoming service events, he looked for local organizations that can use some helping hands.
“I have great compassion for animals, so we sought an opportunity with the Burlington County Animal Shelter,” he explained. “Their website continually posts items that are always needed, therefore, we thought this was another way we could be of service.”
The supply drive will continue until Feb. 21. Items for collection include new toys, unopened dry and wet cat and dog food, cat litter, flea and tick preventatives, dish soap, sponges, paper towels, dryer sheets, laundry detergent and large trash bags.
Regardless of the amount of items the supply drive brings to collect and donate, the senator knows the animal shelter will graciously accept whatever comes, whether it’s one bag of food or a carload of supplies.
According to Burlington County Freeholder Daniel O’Connell, the liaison to the animal shelter, the drive is already off to a great start.
“So far the turnout for the donation drive has been incredible,” he noted. “The community is always extremely generous when it comes to helping out the animals in our county.”
“As the liaison to the animal shelter, I have seen firsthand the incredible work of our staff and volunteers in getting animals adopted into their forever homes,” O’Connell added. “They work hard to make the shelter a safe and comfortable place for the animals that we take in.
“Supply drives like this one help us accommodate everyone who goes above and beyond for our animals every day.”
Residents who want to donate to the supply drive can drop off items at Singleton’s office, 400 North Church St., Suite 260, in Moorestown, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. To get involved with Singleton’s future volunteer efforts, contact his office at (856) 234-2790 or go to the website Troysingleton.com
Singleton has previously traveled to the Palmyra Cove to clean up the shoreline; volunteered at Riverview Estates in Riverton to paint living rooms and clean building exteriors; and participated in other community service events tied to awareness days, months and local STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) events.
“For some of these nonprofit organizations and community groups, these are projects that would not have gotten done otherwise,” Singleton explained. “But the benefit extends beyond our partners — our volunteers also benefit in knowing they had a positive impact on their community.”