Celebrating acts of kindness...
June 23, 2006
Best Friends Day: June 23, 2006.
Best Friends Weekend: June 23 – 25, 2006
All across America, thousands of people will commit acts of kindness toward animals during this year’s Best Friends Day and Best Friends Weekend. United in their determination to make the world a better place, they will show their cities and towns and communities how these acts of kindness to animals can make a difference.
And these acts of kindness will be recorded on the “Kindness Odometer” located on the Best Friends Network site:
http://network.bestfriends.org.
Every individual act will move the odometer forward in real time – and everyone, everywhere will be able to see they are no longer alone in their feelings of compassion toward animals.
Ninety-six percent of Americans now say that animals should never be abused. Could we be at a classic tipping point?
Animals are our best friends, and 89 percent of Americans believe we have a moral obligation to protect them. Even more – 96 percent – say that animals should never be abused.
Still, millions of homeless pets still die in shelters every year. Hundreds of millions more die in experimental laboratories, and literally billions in factory farms.
Social scientists say a dichotomy like this represents a classic “tipping point.” The old ways still persist, but public opinion is driving for change.
Together, on Best Friends Weekend, we can drive that change some more. All across the country, we’re inviting people to do a single, simple act of kindness. Take an elderly neighbor’s dog for a walk; help out at your local rescue group or humane society; donate to your favorite animal cause; eat a vegetarian meal; make an appointment, if you haven’t already, to get your pet fixed.
And, most important, encourage your friends or family to do that, too.
Post your act of kindness here on the website, and let’s demonstrate together that kindness to animals makes a better world for all of us.
For more information on the Best Friends Kindness Index,
please click here.