Starting the year with an entirely different set of officers, Rams for Rescues is a collaborative organization that helps local animals.

This organization focuses on helping three main rescues: Animal Friends Alliance, Colorado Kitty Coalition and Cavies and Canines Animal Rescue. These rescues give members the chance to volunteer and work with cats, dogs and guinea pigs.

“Our focus is to create a bridge between the students at CSU who are hesitant, or they don’t have a ride to get to the place, or they don’t have the resources to volunteer each week,” said Stella Chalex, Rams for Rescues vice president. “We wanted to create a bridge to basically make it easier to volunteer, particularly with animals.”

To become an official member, Rams for Rescues asks those interested for $10 per semester, which goes toward training costs and rescue fees while also funding the snacks and activities provided at meetings.

Meetings are typically held on the first Tuesday of each month, during which members participate in fun activities.

“We try to do beneficial projects for our partner rescues,” said Quinn Gill, Rams for Rescues outreach officer. “In October, we made a bunch of fleece kitty beds for the Colorado Kitty Coalition. They were Halloween themed, of course. Our most recent meeting was a little keychain craft where people made keychain Shrinky Dinks of adoptable animals at our partner rescues, and then we gave those to the partner rescues to go home with the animal to their forever home.”

Outside of meetings, there are a variety of volunteer opportunities that people can sign up for. Some focus more on cleaning and keeping things tidy, while others are more involved with the animals.

Volunteers help socialize animals that may not be comfortable around humans, better preparing them for adoption.

“It can be kind of demoralizing sometimes,” Chalex said. “When we first bring people into our club and put them through basic training, we do try to preface that not every animal (is) going to like you, and not every animal is going to be comfortable with cuddles, and that it’s just really important to pay attention to the animals’ needs and not focus on what you want.”

Members of Rams for Rescue all share a love for animals by helping them find comfort in the world around them. The boundaries of both animals and humans are respected to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

“There is a risk of injury and someone making things worse,” Gill said. “We generally don’t have untrained volunteer members of the club working with feral cats or spicy cats that might scratch them or get themselves more traumatized.”

Anyone is welcome to join the organization. Rams for Rescues President Claudia Yerian said that regardless of experience level, involvement is greatly encouraged; there is a place for everyone, and the organization welcomes any help it can get.

“It’s a great way for people to get their foot in the door with things they might not have tried before or they might be unsure of how to start,” Yerian said. “We’re kind of there to help organize people and get them to where they want to go.”

With many potential experiences and opportunities, the organization has built a strong community. Traveling with those who love animals makes it easy to connect with people from all over.

“Networking and getting out of the campus bubble and going to Loveland to hangout with people who went to a different college or something like that is important and part of the college experience,” Gill said.

After welcoming new officers, Rams for Rescues said it is eager to gather more members. The organization is located within the Lory Student Center, and more information is available on its various social media sites.

“(When) we started, it was like 15 members after we kind of reset everything, and by the end of this year, we have over 40,” Yerian said.

The rate at which Rams for Rescues is growing can be expected to increase, as the group plans to offer even more volunteer opportunities in the near future.

Reach Janaya Stafford at life@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.