In 2001, the head of Los Angeles Animal Regulations hired St. Martin’s Animal Foundation to spearhead a bilingual outreach program that combined humane education, anti-bullying, and health literacy. While doing this outreach, our team witnessed horrific animal cruelty: we responded to starving and battered dogs being trained to dogfight, traumatized animals with severe mange and flea infestations, gunshot wounds, burns, and broken limbs. We noticed that a lot of teenagers and young adults were breeding animals for extra money. Due to home breeding, 1.5 million dogs and cats are euthanized in the US every year. This unethical and unnecessary cycle is very toxic for our communities and the environment.

Founder Sky Valencia knew that it was crucial for her team to create an ongoing outreach program to curb this dangerous behavior. Sky thought that the best way to educate these inner city kids was by providing them with compassionate and health conscious mentors.

Saint Martin’s “Green Team” was created in 2005 and is made up of students and educators who are passionate about health, the environment, and animal care. Since then, SMAF has successfully developed and implemented humane outreach programs through school assemblies in Los Angeles County. The Green Team educates 250 to 800 students per school assembly, and we intend to continue attending at least one assembly per month.

Although the Green Team currently educates students in Los Angeles County, our goal is to create Green Teams in Nevada and Utah as well. We are working tirelessly to secure funding for humane education and rescue centers in both cities. If you would like to assist us in establishing roots for humane education in Nevada and Utah, you can Donate Here.