Ambassadors of Hoke County Animals

Raeford, North Carolina

Nonprofit promotional items help animal shelter supporters raise awareness

Like so many of the animals that come through its doors, Hoke County Animal Shelter needed a caring partner. In 2024, it found one in the nonprofit Ambassadors of Hoke County Animals opens in new window, which was launched by four women with a passion for animals and motivation to help their local shelter better serve the community.

Hoke County, North Carolina, is a heavily rural area where abandonments and strays tend to be more common. It’s also located near Fort Bragg, one of the largest military installations in the world. Since military families sometimes must come and go quickly, pets can sadly get left behind. Ambassadors of Hoke County Animals was created to help the local shelter tackle these challenges in a variety of ways, including by sharing social media content about adoptable animals and hosting pet vaccination and microchipping events. Through collaboration with the shelter, the organization helps to increase awareness about responsible pet ownership, promote adoption and provide resources to help animals find loving furever homes.

Chipping in for animal well-being

“We check in with the shelter throughout each month to find out what it needs. It might be vaccines, dog or cat food, or cat litter. And as a nonprofit, we’re able to fundraise or apply for help to meet those needs,” said Ericka Peterson, who founded the organization along with Rebecca Zelanko, Selina Norton and Amber Smith. “There are a lot of programs designed to help animals in general, so we’re able to help find resources in ways the shelter cannot.”

Earlier in 2025, Ambassadors of Hoke County Animals ran a successful campaign called the Community Microchip Project. Fundraising efforts of this project led to the installation of three microchip scanning stations in the city of Raeford. If a resident finds a stray animal, they can use the free scanning station to help identify its owner.

Nonprofit promotional items offer a reminder

Ambassadors of Hoke County Animals also collaborated with the shelter and a local clinic on a community event to microchip, vaccinate and spay or neuter pets. A one by one grant provided the nonprofit with promotional hand sanitizers opens in new window that were then given to residents who attended the event. “We wanted to give out items that people could use, and everybody likes hand sanitizer,” Peterson said. “People throw them in their purse or their bag, and it helps let people know who we are.”

Peterson said the organization’s goal moving forward is to continue to raise awareness. The team will work to accomplish that through social media, collaborative events and other creative ideas. And along the way, nonprofit promotional items will help boost the brand.

A note from Cheryl

As a group of citizens who stepped up to help its local animal shelter, Ambassadors of Hoke County Animals offers an inspiring story. We were proud to support its mission by providing nonprofit promotional items to help raise awareness of the important work being done. If you’re interested in a one by one grant, visit onebyone.4imprint.com.

For more information about Ambassadors of Hoke County Animals, please visit https://facebook.com/ambassadorsofhokecountyanimals opens in new window