Meet our Intern Shannon: Making a Difference in Thailand

Shannon Schroeder is part of the first group of interns to go to Thailand on our new Internship in Thailand program. Although she has been there less than a week, Shannon is already making the most of her time. Below is an email she sent to friends and family (and Greenheart!) and we thought it was worth sharing.

“I’m currently in Hua Hin, Thailand completing an internship through a company called Greenheart Travel. They partner with many worldwide organizations to help conjoin and integrate many cultures and cultural boundaries. One of their partners, XploreAsia, started a non-profit organization called Rescue Paws. Rescue Paws works to facilitate the lives of many stray dogs, cats, goats, and even turtles around Thailand. They feed stray animals, spay & neuter them, perform surgeries, and administer vaccinations and medications. Stray animals don’t live easy lives here. Many are hit by motor vehicles, starve to death, are struck with disease, are physically and emotionally abused, and are pretty much treated as livestock. Population densities have skyrocketed, and most of these animals haven’t lived to see the age of 5. I’ve been in Thailand for a total of 4 days so far, and I can’t even tell you the amount of strays I’ve seen. They’re everywhere. I can’t reiterate how heartbreaking it is to see. There’s just too many, and it’s a huge problem in this country.

So one of the main tasks of my internship is to raise awareness and assist in the expansion of this nonprofit called Rescue Paws. The organization is relatively new (about a year) and although they’ve saved hundreds of animal lives, they need a lot of assistance. I’m asking anyone who reads this to help me out and more importantly, help this organization out in any way that you can.

Here’s what you can do to make a difference:

1.  You can visit and like their Facebook page

2.  You can click on their website and learn more about this company, how they’ve helped animals in Thailand, and how they want to help further.

3. You could click on the donation button and donate anything possible. The donation PayPal account accepts US dollars, and then is converted to Thai Baht. (Let me add here that vaccinations, food, and spay/neutering doesn’t cost too much in Thailand. For example:  spay/neuter procedures in Thailand cost about 300-500 baht which converts to like 10-15 US Dollars….so don’t assume that I’m asking for your entire month’s salary here-ANYTHING can make a difference)

4. If you or anyone you know has access to medical supplies (this includes gauze, gloves, containers, anything) you can send them directly to Rescue Paws.

5. You can share this post and the reasoning behind Rescue Paws to all  your Facebook friends, your friends that you see in real life, your family, coworkers, anyone/everyone.

I would really appreciate any help that I could get. This company really is making a difference; I’ve seen it first hand, and these animals could use some love. Christmas is approaching, and now is the perfect time to do some good in the world. Let’s all make a difference.”

Interested in following in Shannon’s footsteps? Check out our summer dates for this internship!