Helping Hands Humane Society welcomes community to celebrate 10th anniversary in new facility

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Community members made their way to Helping Hands Humane Society, Friday to celebrate the impact their new location has made on animal welfare.

Grace Clinton, Director of Philanthropy, says their old location housed less than 200 animals, with few amenities.

“So our community embarked on this big journey through several years, a lot of donations, a lot of support to get us into this building, which has a capacity of around 600 animals. We can help so many pets and we’re still growing. We’ve got a lot of additions that we still want to do in the next 10 years,” says Clinton.

The new facility has more kennels, is temperature controlled, contains air-filtration systems, and cats and dogs are separated to allow for a quieter and calmer environment.

Clinton says the open house is a way for the community to see how their efforts have helped.

“These are the animals of Topeka and Shawnee county and the people that adopt and volunteer and support it are the people we share this community with. So we really wanted to be inclusive to everybody. We did specifically want to reach out to those who contributed to the capital campaign, so they could come see where their dollars went, and for those who have purchased kennels or who had sponsored different things throughout the building, we wanted them to see how much of a difference it has made and what it’s still doing to this day,” says Clinton.

There were snacks and drinks, brief appreciation speeches from HHHS board members, and Hills Pet Nutrition, followed by tours.

“We still got a ways to go and we’re not stopping anytime soon, so while this is looking at the last 10 years we also want to look ahead to the next 10 years, because we’re excited to do this again in another 10 years and share with you how we’ve even grown since then,” says Clinton.

The former building was located on Rochester Rd. The new location is now at 5720 SW 21st St., in Topeka.

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