Young Girl Makes a Difference, With Free Kibble for Shelter Cats and Dogs

This Oregon teenager is the kind of kid any parent would be proud to claim. Last Spring, Mimi Ausland, a 12-year-old at the time, was concerned about cats and dogs in local animal shelters, and wanted to help feed them. She founded freekibblekat.com, and has since become a national sensation, recognized as a People Magazine Hero Among Us, national ASPCA Tommy Monahan Kid of the Year, and national Prudential Spirit of Community honoree.

Shortly thereafter, Mimi's efforts were joined by founding sponsor Castor and Pollux, an Oregon manufacturer of pet food. Its press release explains how the free kibble concept works:

Created to provide healthy food for hungry homeless dogs and cats, freekibble.com commits to raise 10 pieces of kibble for shelters across the country each time a visitor answers a trivia question on the freekibble web site. Castor & Pollux helps fulfill that commitment by donating its ORGANIX® and Natural Ultramix® dog and cat foods. Castor & Pollux provides food to 12 freekibble-sponsored pet shelters across the country, in many cases fulfilling all of the shelter’s food needs.

“For most shelters, finding food is a constant challenge -- you never know when a food donation may come in, or what the quality will be when it arrives at your door,” said Jill Franklin, executive director of freekibble beneficiary The Humane Society of Forsythe County, in Georgia. “Now, we have a steady supply of extremely high-quality food, which both adds to the health of the pets in the shelter, and frees us to focus on finding good homes, not finding the next meal.”

You can help Mimi Ausland help more cats and dogs. Here's how:

• Play Meow Trivia
  Every day you play a new question, freekibble.com donates 10 pieces of kibble to animal shelters.
• Donate Directly Through Paypal
  Or, you can mail a check to freekibble, PO Box 699, Bend, OR 97709
• Buy a freekibble Tee

I've already done two of the three, and will be ordering a t-shirt in the near future. My cats are getting 3 sample packs of Castor & Pollux Natural Ultra Mix Canned Stews (9 meals apiece), and 9 meals will be given to shelter cats by Castor & Pollux. A win-win situation, as I see it.

On May 14, 2008, Mimi delivered her first round (April’s donations - see video) of kibble to the Humane Society of Central Oregon: 240 lbs. and enough to feed 456 dogs for one day! Since then and as of June 05, 2009, freekibble and freekibblekat, have raised over 164,000 lbs. (82 tons!) of kibble. On the first of each month, Mimi personally delivers donated food to the Humane Society of Central Oregon, and Castor & Pollux arranges for the deliver to the other 13 shelters in the U.S.

I hope to personally interview Mimi Ausland for my first feature article on Kids Who Make a Difference. This girl has accomplished an amazing amount of good deeds for someone barely in her teens - more than many people accomplish in a lifetime. She is smart, pretty, and has a heart of gold. I applaud her, and predict a future filled with rewards, awards, and more good deeds.

Mimi saw a need and figured out a way to fill it - one piece of kibble at a time.
_{Photo Credit: © FreeKibble.com}