Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Brown.
Megan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I worked at a high volume, low-income spay/neuter clinic in mid-town Kansas City. I started seeing right away that these animals had more needs than just spay/neuter. The animal might have been crawling with fleas, might be chained up outside without a dog house, etc. There were multiple problems that the animals were facing, in addition to the reproducing issue. I would get flea meds and run them over to the person whose dog was infested with fleas, I would find a dog house and take it to the dog that had no shelter. I discovered that a lot of people were having trouble even feeding their animals. I knew we had to do something. A fellow rescuer, Judy Kerns, and I began getting dog and cat food and getting out into the community. Once people heard about the help that we provided, our phones started ringing and they haven’t stopped! People came along side of us that supported what we were doing and we formed our not-for-profit, Chain of Hope, in 2010. We’ve been helping animals in the urban core and the homeless camps of Kansas City, MO for fifteen years now. We provide supplies, assist with medical care, provide education and try to help people to be able to keep their pet and provide it the care it needs. We also investigate neglect and cruelty complaints, often opening cases with animal control and following up to make sure the situation is resolved.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been many struggles along the way. Discovering the depth of the neglect and cruelty was mind boggling. Learning how to deal with it was a learning curve, but we’ve just about seen everything now. Being strong emotionally is a must for this job and it is extremely difficult at times. This job will break you if you don’t take care of yourself and your heart. Keeping the financial support coming is always a challenge as well. We believe in showing our work and we post daily about helping the animals in our community so that people can see where their donor dollars go.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I co-founded Chain of Hope in 2010 and have been the Director ever since. Our mission is very clear: to alleviate the suffering of animals living in the urban core of KCMO. We are known for handling cruelty issues and pushing for resolution. We do not give up easily at all because a life is always at stake. I work six days a week, 10-12 hours a day. It’s exhausting, but it’s worth it because the animals of KCMO need us! I am, proud of our credibility because we do what we say we’re going to do. We have an excellent reputation and that is because we deeply care about the animals and we know that we really are their voice. When they need help, we are there.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Judy Kerns is my co-founder. When Judy and I first met at the old Kansas City animal shelter, we began getting food together and meeting every Sunday afternoon to go into the community and distribute food. We did this for quite a while and then people started hearing about us and donating food to us to give out. Judy and I were “cut by the same cloth” as she likes to say.
Lynn Lazar is also very important because so many people wanted us to form a not-for-profit and I had no desire to take on all of that paperwork. She was a paralegal and offered to file everything for free if we would just form a group. I finally said yes and we received our not-for-profit status, which enabled us to take in more donations and allowed us to grow and help so many more animals.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chainofhopekc.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChainofHopeKC/
