Cozy Critters
About Me
My name is Max Collins and I am a sophomore here at HHS. I knew on the first day of this class that I wanted my project to benefit animals in some way, shape, or form because animal welfare is something I have always been passionate about. Ever since I was a kid I have loved anything and everything to do with both pets and wild species. However, after I adopted Ghost -- my ball python -- I have been especially interested in reptiles and how mistreated they are by our community. My passion for animal welfare and my love for Ghost has led me to fight against reptile abuse through another one of my passions, crochet!
Cozy Critters
Cozy Critters is a nonprofit founded to help fight reptile abuse and neglect. By crocheting stuffed reptiles and selling them at the end of each month, we generate revenue to donate to the New England Herpetological Society and the United States Association of Reptile Keepers. Both organizations make it their mission to rehabilitate abused reptiles as well as advocating for law reform and better veterinary care. By helping them accomplish their mission, we are able to improves the lives of reptiles across not only New England, but the whole country!
Community Need
In an investigation on a PetSmart wearhouse conducted by PETA, it was revealed that “tens of thousands of frogs, lizards, turtles, snakes, bearded dragons, and other reptiles were kept at the facility at any given time confined to barren, filthy, crowded plastic tubs and deprived of even the most basic necessities, such as heat and UV lamps, veterinary care, fresh food, and even water to drink and soak in”. All living creatures deserve access to basic necessities, human and animal alike. Both mass and individual reptile cruelty needs to be stopped, I hope to help accomplish that. Improving the lives of the animals in our community is one more step towards improving the lives of everyone in our community.
My PSA -->
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Sustainable Development Goals
Our main mission is to ensure the good health and well-being of reptiles across the country
Reptilians and even amphibians are two classes of animals on land that we strive to protect
By advocating for stricter laws surrounding the care and protection of reptiles, we can ensure peace, justice, and strong institutions
Project Goals
Education
By spreading pamphlets about the causes, facts, and effects of reptile abuse I hope to educate people about the issue and stop potential abuse before it happens
Fundraising
I hand crochet and sell stuffed reptiles, and donate all proceeds to NEHS and USARK, two organizations dedicated to fighting reptile abuse in all forms
Community Partners
Crochet Club
The Crochet and Knitting club, run and orginized by Madame Nelson, has been an absoluetly massive help with Cozy Critters. Because of their help we have been able to crochet so many more stuffed animals to sell than I could have ever dreamed of on my own. We meet weekly to go over progress as well as have a designated time to sit down and crochet.Their continued support is overwhelming, and I'm so glad to be working with them.
Mr. List
The principal of Holliston High School, Mr. List, has been another huge help to Cozy Critters. He has helped me with the more logistical parts of this project such as budgeting, organizing the mini fairs, connecting me with people in our community that can help with the project, and all in all just being a great support. Having both and adult and administrative perspective has been vital to the sucsess of Cozy Critters, and I hope we can continue working together into the second and third years of this project.
How to Help! :)
Come to a fair!
Come to one of our fundraisers and buy a stuffed reptile! If you cannot afford to support monetarily, just hang around for a bit and take a pamphlet. Both are amazing ways to support us and all our hard work :)
Follow us
Follow @cozycrittershhs on instagram for regular updates and photos!
Join the crochet club
By joining the club, you can directly help us crochet more stuffed animals. All skill levels welcome!
