Our Work

Georgian Triangle Humane Society Partnered with Humane Canada to Help Youth Increase Empathy and Compassion

We worked with Georgian Triangle Humane Society (GTHS) on its partnership with Humane Canada on a Promising Practices Project which focuses on engaging men and boys as allies against gender-based violence through community-based humane education programs.

Karen Marsh, executive director of GTHS, first learned about the relationship between animal cruelty and gender-based violence when she began developing the GTHS’s Humane Education program in 2017. As a seasoned educator of 22 years, Karen discovered the secret to increasing empathy and compassion in young people wasn’t anti-bullying assemblies, pink shirt days or scaring them straight. These tactics have had little impact on behaviour modification. She learned the answer is animals — in particular, companion animals. She believes in the importance of the human-animal bond and the impact animals have on at-risk youth, in particular young boys.

Read this article by Erin Anderssen in The Globe and Mail:

At animal shelters, youth learn to care for cats and dogs – and each other

In the classroom portion of the Georgian Triangle program, puppies or therapy dogs often visit, but Ms. Marsh says the most amazing moments happen at the shelter. A child holding a kitten or puppy for the first time often cries from the awe and joy of the experiences. “I never got that in my Shakespeare class,” she says.

In that moment, she suggests, the students see they have a choice: To love or to harm a creature who is trusting them unconditionally. “They feel that responsibility,” she says, “and they relate it other kids they see being bullied and start to question that use of power and strength.”

Listen to Karen Marsh’s discussion on CBC Radio 1 – Ontario Morning with Nav Nanwa about the importance of teaching compassion to young people through animal care.

Watch the Humane Education summer program in action here on CTV News.

Learn more about the partnership in Collingwood Today:

GTHS uses youth classes on animal care to help end gender-based violence

The youth education program has long been instilling values of compassion and care in area young people, now GTHS is working with Humane Canada on a larger-scale program with a similar aim.

GTHS recently started the construction of its Regional Centre for Pets and People, which will engage 6,000 youth in meaningful programming, doubling the organization’s current capacity.

You can support them by visiting: https://supportgths.ca/

We have been helping Georgian Triangle Humane Society (GTHS), a non-profit charity that operates an Animal Centre in the south Georgian Bay region in Ontario, raise awareness of their fundraising events. This year, given ongoing economic hardships, it is more urgent than ever for GTHS to raise crucial funds required to support its day-to-day operations, enabling the organization to change the lives of pets in need through compassionate care (The Creemore ECHO: Humane Society dog surrenders up by 25% in 2024).

We are now getting ready for the summer Walk for Pets event on June 14 and have helped spread the word through grassroots media relations and community outreach (Collingwood Today: GTHS Walk for Pets welcomes four- and two-legged participants), including driving awareness among residents and visitors in local outlets in Collingwood, Blue Mountain and Bruce Grey Simcoe.

It’s not too late to join the GTHS walk on June 14 in Collingwood. MyCollingwood.ca: Registration is open for Walk for Pets 2025

Most recently, we helped drive awareness of the iconic Tom Hortons Smile Cookie campaign, where Tim Horton owners Ann Murphy and Amy Bennett of the Sunnidale Corners location in Stayner, Ont., dedicated 100 per cent of the proceeds from each cookie sold between April 28 and May 4 to support the GTHS. (Spoiler alert: They raised almost $8,200!)

And previously, we invited media to the GTHS annual open house fundraising event where they had a great turnout. Check out the video.