Wilkes University’s Animal Welfare Club, created at the start of the fall semester, received official Student Government recognition and seeks to educate students on the pandemic that is animal cruelty.
“There’s more animal cruelty right now in the world than any other time in history,” said Matthew Hollay, club president and junior biology major. “It’s frustrating to me and I want to reduce it as much as possible. Trillions of animals get killed almost every year.”
To this point, as per The Humane Society of The United States, more than 50 million animals are used in experiments each year in the United States.
The club’s primary goals are to advocate, volunteer/fundraise, and educate. There are three important topics Hollay mentions that the club wishes to educate others on: using cruelty-free products, going vegan and adopting not shopping. He wishes to reach as many people as possible on things anyone can do to help animals.
Owner of two pets himself, Hollay’s two rats “Hide” and “Seek ‘’ demonstrate for him the necessity of a club like this and how important it is to spread awareness.
With the club having started only two weeks ago, only one event has occurred: a fundraiser selling merchandise with all proceeds going to the Griffin Pond Animal Shelter. In the upcoming weeks, the club will hand out free samples from Eden-a Vegan Cafe and discuss reasons to go vegan. They also plan to host various fundraisers for shelters like SPCA, Luzerne County and Blue Chip Farm Animal Refuge.
“Animals have always brought me extreme joy and happiness,” said Megan Oakley, senior nursing major, who works closely with Hollay in the club. “The more I learned about them I realized how unique and incredible they really are. Animals bring love and comfort to those around them and I want everyone to experience that.”
The Animal Welfare Club is the only club of its kind on campus. Students were eager to get involved, evident by Hollay’s success on Club Day.
“I went from nine people signed up to 26 more people being signed up,” Hollay said.
As of right now, there are no solidified scheduled meeting times but to get involved, reach out to Hollay at [email protected].