1. Put a donation box out in your office for gently used collars, dog toys, towels, and other pet items, as well as any newitem donations your co-workers care to make. At the end of two weeks, drop off the donation at your local shelter or rescue group. We guarantee they’ll be thrilled.

2. Share through social media, Check out Petfinder.com and share an adoptable dog in your area through your Facebook and/or Twitter account. Even if you’re not directly responsible for finding that dog a home, it helps remind people of all the wonderful animals out there in need of a home. Even better? Vow to share an adoptable dog once a week.

Or are you a marketing/social media wiz and want to make a slightly larger commitment? Reach out to a local rescue group (breed specific if you have a passion for a particular breed) and volunteer to manage their social media efforts or write the profiles for their adoptable dogs. Words are powerful and a descriptive entry accurately and compellingly “selling” the dogs can help them stand out and find a home.

3. Have decent (or down right great) photography skills? Volunteer to take photos of the dogs up for adoption at your local shelter. It is amazing what a good photo can do to help boost the odds of adoption. Don’t worry if you’re not a professional photographer. Compared to a dismal kennel shot, any decent photo is a vast improvement and an immense help.

4. Start a Knitting/Crochet/ Blanket-Making Circle. Shelters are almost universally in need of blankets to cozy up their cages and kennels and provide a bit of comfort to the dogs they’re housing. Not down with the knitting needles? Purchase fleece from a discount remnant fabric store and cut it into 3’ x 3’ squares. And voilà, instant blanket! To get fancy on it, tassel the edges by cutting a fringed edge. Fast, cheap, but still cozy.

5. Bottle Drive. Help your local cash-strapped rescue continue doing their good work by collecting the returnable bottles from your condo/apartment building/office and donating the redeemed deposit to a rescue group. Simply put out a bin to collect the bottles (if you’re in a condo, check with your strata first) and put up a sign noting what rescue the bottle deposit will be donated to. Increase your haul by spreading the word in advance— employ your office photocopier to make flyers explaining your fundraising effort. You can amass a couple hundred dollars in bottles amazingly quickly.

6. Feeling crafty? Make bandannas. Shelter workers attest that the presence of some flare (a bandanna, nice collar or cute toy) can garner a dog the attention it needs to find his forever home. Studies have shown that all-black dogs in particular have trouble standing out and are often overlooked. Fight “black dog syndrome,” as it’s known, with fun DIY bandannas. Get some inexpensive coloured cotton twill and cut it into triangles of varying sizes to accommodate different neck sizes. No need to finish the edges. Then drop off your handiwork at your municipal animal shelter. The perfect Saturday activity, and one that kids can get involved with, too.

7. Walk Dogs. Volunteer to walk the dogs, play with them, or clean their cages. Volunteer help is greatly needed in many overcrowded shelters and your smiling face can make a big difference to both the morale of the dogs and the staff.

8. Toy Drive. The next time you’re having a big get-together, like a block party or your annual open house or summer BBQ, suggest your guests bring a toy to donate to homeless animals, if they feel so inclined. It’s a great way to do some good while you’re socializing and most people are more than happy to contribute a little something as it feels good, costs hardly a thing, and takes hardly any effort.

9. One word: Cakewalk. This is great fun at a larger fundraising event. Get your friends, neighbours, church group or book club in on it, and prepare to have a ball. Nostalgia, baking, and the fun of decorating your masterpiece, plus a charitable component? What could be better? For those unfamiliar with how a cakewalk works, it’s a bit like musical chairs, but without the chairs. Tape numbers on the floor in a circular pattern and set up a table to display all the donated decorated cakes. For each round of the game, be sure you have one person participating for each number taped to the floor. Each person playing buys a ticket (usually, the cost is a dollar or two) to enter the game. Everyone walks around in a circle as the music plays, stopping at the closest number when the music stops. Once everyone is stopped, a number is drawn out of a hat and the person standing on the number that’s been drawn gets to choose a cake. Then start all over with new players. This is frequently the most popular game at any fundraising event and a whole lot of fun, so don’t be surprised if your cakewalk is mobbed by participants. At the end, donate the money collected to “walk” in the cakewalk to your local rescue. Pretty sweet, right?

10. Foster. Why not open your house and heart to a homeless dog that needs temporary shelter? The time commitment is often as short as two weeks, but it is a tremendous help to rescue groups, allowing them to take in more dogs in need of homes, dogs that in some cases would be euthanized if the rescues weren’t able to pluck them from an over-capacity kill shelter. And, of course, fostering is a godsend for the foster dogs, allowing them to know a home rather than a cage, so their true personalities can shine forth, helping them to find their forever home. In short: small time commitment, huge reward.