We recently connected with Jackie Gilbert and have shared our conversation below.

Jackie, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

Driving around my local area in the North Georgia Mountains, I often saw dogs chained out without adequate shelter or space. As a dog lover, I hated seeing that but had no idea how to help. It absolutely broke my heart. One day I was watching an online show called “Returning the Favor” hosted by Mike Rowe. This episode was about a non-profit in Oregon called Fences for Fido. They built free fences for dogs in need. I immediately knew this was what I was meant to do in my area, so I contacted them and they became my mentors as I began the process of creating Freedom For Fido. I believed an organization like this could succeed because we have a unique population of poorer “legacy Appalachians” who need our help and affluent retirees who have resources and time to volunteer.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Freedom For Fido is a story of finding Purpose in retirement.

I was a stay-at-home mom since our daughter was born in 1994. When she was ready to leave the nest, my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and I became her full-time caregiver. When my mom passed away, I felt adrift. My purpose was gone and I was struggling. When I saw the episode on “Returning the Favor”, I just knew that this was what I was meant to do. After much prayer and planning, we built our first fence on April 28, 2019.

Our mission is to provide free dog fences to low-income families with dogs on chains or in need.

One of the things I’m most proud of is how our charity brings together two distinct populations who normally don’t have opportunities to interact. The bond that’s created between our recipients and our volunteers is real, and rewarding for all of us.

In addition, the “Fido Family” of volunteers has grown close through the work we do together. In addition to building fences, we’ve become true friends and do many things together outside the charity. We have a standing Pickleball reservation every week, and various members of the Fido Family join us every week. In addition, we’ll have impromptu meetups at local micro-breweries, and occasional potluck dinners at members’ homes.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Our community has been generous beyond our most optimistic expectations. As one example, in our first few months as a charity, a local restaurant owner approached us and offered to host a wine-pairing dinner fundraiser to help us get started. He took care of all of the details and helped us raise $6,000 at our first event. We’ve also had generous local residents approach us (unsolicited) with $5,000 donations, and a local realtor who suggested we launch a “Fence Sponsor” program where the sponsor would pay the $1,000 cost of a fence. He paid for a fence at the time, and we’ve since had more than 30 other sponsors join the program.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Our goal is to get as many dogs off their chains as possible. We’ve recently celebrated our 5th anniversary, have completed 140 fences and helped over 300 dogs.

The impact we’re making is being noticed, and neighboring towns are asking us to expand into their area. After initially being limited to a 20-mile radius of our town (to avoid volunteers having to drive too far to build fences), we now cover a 60-mile radius with two partnership projects in adjacent towns (using a local base of volunteers in each town). It’s been amazing to witness our growth and the willingness of others to help us in our efforts to reach more dogs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://freedomforfido.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freedomforfido/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freedomforfido
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@freedomforfido6571