The Unseen Crisis - Give Workers A REST!

🚨 UPDATE: 25% of seats claimed in the first 24 hours! We expect this event to sell out as early as next week, so please be sure to reserve your spot soon! 🚨  FREE Early Thanksgiving Dinner! This one is for YOU, our tireless San Antonio animal rescue family. Often, the biggest hearts carry the heaviest loads. You spend your days, nights, and emotional energy caring for the animals who need you most—but who is caring for you?  We are.

Please join us for a very special, Early Thanksgiving Dinner at the historic Woodlawn Theater.
The evening is entirely about feeding, honoring, and comforting the incredible humans who make up our animal rescue community. Whether you are a rescuer, foster, kennel tech, or volunteer—you are warmly invited, and this evening is completely FREE for you.

🦃 When: Thursday, November 12th at 5:30 PM
📍 Where: Woodlawn Theater, 1920 Fredericksburg Rd., San Antonio
✉️ RSVP: Please let us know you’re coming by Nov 9th!
👉  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-early-thanksgiving-dinner-for-satx-animal-rescue-welfare-people-tickets-2003261249323

​What to expect:
🥧 A Beautiful Feast: Sit back, relax, and let us serve you a delicious, warm meal. No work, no rushing—just wonderful food and heartfelt fellowship with people who truly "get" it.

🎁 Gifts & Luxe Door Prizes: We want you to feel pampered! We will be giving away high-end personal health and wellness items, including professional massages, day spa passes, and self-care packages to help you recharge.

🎤 Meet Our MC & Host: We are thrilled to introduce Dr. Denise Krohn Peña, who will be hosting our evening! Dr. Peña serves on the A REST Board of Advisors and brought WA2S its greatest gift so far: the ABCD Model, which is fundamentally molding our success and community approach.

🗣️ Inspiring Guest Speakers: Hear from guest speakers who understand the unique joys and challenges of rescue work.

🌱 Exciting Program Announcements: We will be introducing A REST (Animal Rescuer Emotional Support Therapy) and presenting our full slate of supportive programs for 2027.

Special Announcements & Partnerships:
🎉 We are incredibly proud to announce that A REST will be the official recipient of proceeds from the annual Animalis Fabula Film Festival!

🤝 This vital event is part of the Animalis Fabula Film Festival and funded in part by a generous grant from The Summerlee Foundation, support which also sustains the years-long Summerlee Foundation Advocacy Track at the Animalis Fabula Film Festival. We are so grateful for their dedication to our mission and to you.

Come as you are. Leave your work at the door and let us pour back into you. You do so much—now, let us take care of you. 🧡

Please RSVP by November 9th so we can ensure we have an abundant plate and special treat ready for everyone! We can't wait to share this beautiful night of fellowship with you.

👉 Reserve your seat here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-early-thanksgiving-dinner-for-satx-animal-rescue-welfare-people-tickets-2003261249323

#AnimalRescue #SelfCareForRescuers #AREST #SanAntonioEvents #ThankfulForRescuers #AnimalBehavior #RescuerSupport #CommunityDinner #TheSummerleeFoundation #AnimalisFabulaFilmFestival #ABCD #ABCDModel #WA2SFilms #AniFab

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The True Cost of Compassion.  Animal rescue, welfare and care is a grueling, emotionally taxing endeavor. Every day, independent rescuers, shelter workers, and animal advocates step into environments of neglect, suffering, and systemic failure. While the focus is rightfully on saving the animals, the psychological toll on the humans doing the work is often ignored.

Compassion fatigue, severe burnout, and secondary traumatic stress are driving passionate people out of the rescue community. The World Animal Awareness Society (WA2S.org) recognizes that to solve the animal crisis, we must first sustain the people fighting it.

The A REST pilot program is a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to build a sustainable support infrastructure for animal welfare professionals.

Guided by an expert program advisory board, A REST connects rescuers with the specialized care they need to process trauma and continue their vital work.

Program Highlights:

• Targeted Mental Health Support Connecting frontline rescuers with mental health professionals who understand the unique, compounding traumas associated with animal suffering and municipal shelter crises.
• Peer-to-Peer Support Networks Creating safe, structured, and confidential spaces for rescuers to decompress, share experiences, and process field trauma without judgment.
• Trauma & Burnout Education Equipping volunteers and shelter workers with psychological tools, boundary-setting strategies, and crisis de-escalation techniques to prevent burnout before it forces them to step away.

Sustaining the Front Line The rescue system relies entirely on the empathy and labor of its volunteers and staff. When rescuers burn out, the animals pay the price.

Through A REST, we are shifting the paradigm. By treating rescuer mental health as a critical operational necessity rather than an afterthought, we are ensuring that the people dedicated to saving lives have the emotional armor necessary to stay in the fight for the long haul.

By treating emotional therapy as a vital component of animal advocacy, A REST changes the paradigm. We are building a sustainable 5-year strategy to ensure that the individuals who give everything to save lives have the emotional armor they need to stay in the fight.

The A REST pilot program relies on community backing, corporate partnerships, and philanthropic support to fund localized therapy sessions, resources, and clinical guidance.
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Help Us Heal the Healers. The A REST pilot program is built on community support. Your contribution directly funds therapy sessions, support groups, and mental health resources for the rescuers who give everything to the animals.

• Your donation can cover the cost of critical emotional support services.
• ​Join the Conversation: Help us break the stigma around compassion fatigue in the rescue community.

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Donate For A REST

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