Piece by piece, volunteers work toward a common goal at Fort Worth Animal Care and Control-- assembling parts to build 75 raised beds for shelter pets.
"It's a lot better for an animal to be able to sleep on a nice bed, instead of having to be on a concrete floor. It's a lot more comfortable for them," said Michelle Byrod, who works with Fort Worth code compliance.
More than 70 NBC 5, Telemundo 39 and Comcast employees pitched in for Comcast Cares Day, serving eight animal shelters across North Texas. Volunteers did chores spanning from cleaning crates, to walking dogs, to manual labor.
NBC 5 and Telemundo 39 president and general manager Tom Ehlmann also took part.
"There are 7 million people that live here, and there's a lot of work that needs to be done and hopefully we're helping get some of that work done today," Ehlmann said.
The bigger mission was to inspire others to give back too.
"Especially seniors, they need something to do. Come on down, we need you!" said Lydia McKaye, a volunteer coordinator with the city of Fort Worth.
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As a dog mom, McKaye sees firsthand the impact the community can have, especially on animals, when shelters are over capacity.
"An hour, half an hour, it's huge for them. Having that human touch is tremendous," she said.
Another big way to make a difference is through adoption. At Fort Worth Animal Care and Control, volunteers can adopt pets for free anytime. For everyone else, the shelter is running a special through the weekend. Saturday and Sunday, the cost to adopt is just $10.
Serving the shelters is just one example of how to give back through volunteering. Hundreds of nonprofits could use help across North Texas. Visit voly.org to connect to the programs you're passionate about in your area.
