Outside of Jenny Rogers full-time job at Auburn University, she is committed to making sure dogs in need are cared for until they can find their forever home.
In 2017, Rogers founded the nonprofit organization New Hope Rescue as a fostering program for animals, and there are currently 40 dogs fostered through the program.
“We came up with the name New Hope Rescue because we wanted to be able to give new hope to the dogs in need,” Rogers said.
Rogers and her team help rescue stray dogs, owner surrenders and dogs at risk for being put down at high kill animal shelters. Once the dogs are rescued, the dogs are fostered until they are adopted.
New Hope Rescue does not have its own animal shelter. Therefore, the organization relies heavily on dedicated volunteers to help foster the animals.
According to Rogers, there is a variety of people who foster for the organization.
“It's kind of half and half," she said. "We have families that foster as well as college students."
Rogers also fosters some of the rescued dogs herself.
Fostering and adopting with New Hope Rescue is not limited to people in Alabama. According to Rogers, the dogs are sent to homes anywhere in the United States and even Canada.
“If it's the perfect home, we will find a way to get it there,” she said.
To provide necessities such as food, veterinary care and shots for the fostered dogs, New Hope Rescue receives donations through partnerships with businesses, volunteers and even personal connections that the volunteers have.
Holly Goodwin, one of the main fosters and partners in New Hope Rescue, said her connections in California have benefited New Hope Rescue.
"Well, there’s a lot of personal connections," Goodwin said. "You know, I have seen my own relationships. I mean, I'm from California and some of our biggest supporters now are people from California, and they donate, and they reach out. So, we've slowly been expanding."
Rogers and the volunteers also reach out to the community through New Hope Rescue's social media pages and with fundraisers.
According to Rogers, two of their most important fundraisers are their annual yard sale and their online auction, which helps pay off expensive veterinary bills.
They used to also hold fundraisers at restaurants. However, they have not been able to recently because of COVID-19.
Also, during COVID-19, the number of fosters increased for New Hope Rescue.
“During COVID, we were able to help a lot more dogs, because so many people were at home,” Goodwin said. “But now life kind of getting back to normal. We are seeing some people who they really thought that the dog was good during COVID, but now they're starting to, it's not fitting in their life. That's not super common, but it is happening.”
Rogers also stated that the pandemic is a reason why there are currently more owner surrenders having to be saved from shelters.
Therefore, Rogers is encouraging people to give fostering a chance even if they are unsure.
Morgan Lyons, senior in supply chain management, adopted her first puppy, Hazel, from New Hope Rescue during COVID-19.
She said she had a positive experience adopting from New Hope Rescue, and she is still connected with Rogers.
“She gave me a lot of advice. We actually did a Zoom call together, and she texted me all the things I needed to do, and even to this day if I have questions,” Lyons said. “Hazel had really red eyes the other week, and I called her and I was like, ‘What is this?’ and she's like ‘It's fine just calm down.’ So, she's still very helpful, and we're still very interconnected with each other.”
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Kelis McGhee, junior in journalism, is a community writer for The Auburn Plainsman.
