Bascom Library Event Recap
Pupcycled volunteers having fun upcycling toys at Bascom Library on 9/8/2024!
On September 8th, the event in San Jose’s Bascom Library became celebrated by Pupcycled’s team as our most successful event yet, and for good reason. It now holds the record for the most toys ever made during any event from the organization, however, it was not without its fair share of obstacles. “It was pretty chaotic at first, and we initially ran out of clothes so we had to get another batch,” said event lead Anusha Shringi when asked about how the event went. Held at Bascom Library, Anusha expected the turnout to be as our usual numbers of 10-20 volunteers. With a nearby school’s Key Club organization, though, our number of volunteers skyrocketed to over 50 volunteers. This was a shock at first which was why the event felt chaotic at first because we only had a sufficient number of supplies and materials for 20 volunteers. Luckily, the library provided us with extra scissors so everyone could have a fun time and contribute to making dog toys. Largely thanks to this, we ended up making more than 200 toys, Pupcycled’s biggest record! This was our first time having a school organization come to our events to help out. We will look into partnering with school volunteer organizations to increase volunteership at our events in the future. A lot of the Key Club members had a great time chatting with their friends and listening to the music in the background as they worked away at creating toys. Pupcycled events are a lot more enjoyable when you have close ones nearby to enjoy the experience with.
All 220 toys made at the Bascom Library event! Do you recognize yours?
While this is—of course—an amazing achievement, it does pose the question of whether events in the future should have limited sign-ups. In this case, we were lucky enough to have an incredible outcome despite the overwhelming number of volunteers. However, this may pose a problem for future events if not executed correctly. For event leads, one of the most important skills is being adaptable to any problems that arise, which we are lucky to know that all of our event and chapter leads are well-qualified for. Due to this recent event, Pupcycled will be looking more into the advantages and disadvantages of limiting the number of sign ups for each event.
Regardless, we are incredibly grateful for the turnout and would not have wanted the event to go any other way. We deeply appreciate each and every volunteer who takes time out of their day to make a difference for a shelter pup!
Written by Alayna Atkinson
Edited by Anusha Shringi
