READING, Pa. – 2025 has been a tough year at Mary’s Shelter in Reading.
“We’ve seen an influx of help needed with our clients,” said Laura Flores of Mary’s Shelter.
Staff say families are struggling with jobs, income and daycare. And on top of that, the federal government shutdown and the state budget impasse have slowed things down for the team.
“We just are waiting still on the funding to be released for certain items,” Flores explained.
This year, the biggest need? Baby supplies.
At Humane Pennsylvania, the animals tell the story. Every dollar donated helps keep them warm, fed, and ready for adoption.
“Giving Tuesday, it just means kind of another push for those one-time donations that are super important, but also we like to kind of gear our goal towards gaining some more monthly donors,” said Maggie McDevitt of Humane Pennsylvania.
The organization says donations on Giving Tuesday help fund food, vaccines, and low-cost programs for families.
“The goal is to keep them out of the shelters in the first place, so they never have to come here and experience a shelter and experience what it’s like to, you know, be surrendered or abandoned or a stray on the street,” McDevitt said.
Both nonprofits say the message is simple: keep helping, whenever you can.