Voiceless, the fund for animals

Voiceless promotes respect and compassion for animals; increases awareness of the conditions in which they live; and takes action to protect animals from suffering.

Voiceless:
a) awards grants to organisations that share our vision
b) educates Australians and in particular young Australians.
c) works to modify or create legislation and policies to protect animals.

It can be hard and upsetting to think about, but the truth is that many animals are suffering terribly due to human activities and industries.

We all know about how dogs and cats are sometimes abandoned and neglected; but did you know that farm animals live in some of the worst conditions in Australia? Because they can’t speak our language, can’t vote and have no legal rights, animals are ‘voiceless’.

They can’t speak out! That’s why we need to become their voice. If we don’t speak up for them, who will?

Grants: As our first major initiative, Voiceless launched a national grants program, the largest of its kind in the country, to support organisations with projects that help animals.

Since its inception in 2004, the Voiceless Grants Program has awarded more than $700,000 to non-profit organisations, universities, schools and local councils for animal protection projects. For further details about our grant recipients, please visit our website at: www.voiceless.org.au.

Education: Voiceless has two educational initiatives to harness the compassion and empathy of young people. 



Animal Club is a national network of clubs around Australia created by Voiceless to inspire and encourage schools to get active for animal protection.

Rewards and recognition include an annual $5,000 Humane School Prize and seed funding to help kick-start Clubs.

Club Leaders facilitate the Club's activities in schools or in the community to raise awareness of animal protection issues.

A Club Leader might be a teacher, principal or interested school parent.

For more information about Animal Club, please visit http://www.animalclub.org.au.

Voiceless Animal Advocates (VAA) is a national network of student societies on university campuses, which aims to:

a) increase awareness of the conditions in which animals live; and
b) empower students to take action to protect animals from suffering.

VAA provides a forum to promote respect and compassion for animals amongst university students.

Each VAA is run by the students on their campus with Voiceless providing support and guidance. VAA groups organise activities at their university, or in the community, to raise awareness of animal protection issues.

Currently, VAA is focusing on law students and Animal Law reform. Voiceless soon hopes to expand VAA to encompass other university disciplines such as veterinary science, politics and economics.

Law: Voiceless’s legal arm engages in a range of activities, including lobbying for legal reforms aimed at protecting animals and educating the community about animals and the law.

In 2005, we established Voiceless Law Talk, Australia’s first think-tank designed to facilitate discussion amongst lawyers, law students and academics in the emerging area of ‘animal law’.

For further details about Voiceless’s legal arm, please visit the law section of our website.

If the knowledge that animals are suffering makes you sad or angry, there are things that you can do to help.

At Voiceless, we believe that every individual can be a powerful voice for animals. If one person can make a difference, many people working together can accomplish more by inspiring each other with their energy and ideas.

By joining Animal Club, school students can be a part of group of like-minded people who work together for the common goal of improving the lives of animals.

Groups are more influential than just one person working alone and a club can tap into a wide range of skills and talents that each member brings such as creativity, organisational abilities, public speaking or good promotion.

The types of activities that an Animal Club might get involved in include: field trips to animal shelters; poster displays at your local library about animal issues; school concerts or plays about protecting animals; letter writing to media or decision-makers regarding animal issues; and regular columns in local newspapers or newsletters addressing animal protection issues.

The Animal Club website provides activity ideas, animal fact sheets, club profiles, and a host of other humane education resources.

For law students at university, joining VAA can bring the following benefits:
    * You can use your passion for the law to be a voice for animals.
    * Trying to solve problems on your own can be difficult and frustrating. But when you’re part of a VAA, you get support and encouragement from other VAA members.
    * A collective voice often has more influence than a single person. People sit up and take notice when many people come together to support an important cause.
    * VAA aims to bring together the wide range of skills and talents of its members. Your projects will be successful because of the efforts, experiences and creativity of all members.
    * Develop your organisational, communication and time-management skills by being involved in an extra-curricular activity, such as VAA.
    * You can broaden your understanding of animal law and apply your legal education outside the classroom. 
    * A group has more people to draw ideas from, make calls, write letters and hand out fliers.
    * VAA provides a wealth of networking opportunities with fellow law students, solicitors, academics and others who are involved in animal protection.
    * VAA provides leadership opportunities which are often viewed upon favourably by employers.
    * VAA aims to provide a friendly forum for all points of view on animal protection. Voiceless advocates respect and compassion for all animals and we encourage lively debate and discussion.
    * Each VAA is part of an Australia wide network of law students interested in animal protection, linked through Voiceless.

What you can do

Animals need our help now more than ever and there are many ways that you can make a difference. Decide on an issue to focus on that's close to your heart and choose an activity that uses your skills and can be accomplished in your free time. There is a list of activity ideas on our website – see www.voiceless.org.au/Make_a_Difference/Make_a_Difference/What_you_can_do.html.

If you are a part of a non-profit organisation, local council or university, interested in applying for a Voiceless Grant and would like ideas and direction, please see our Project Suggestions, available online at www.voiceless.org.au/Grants/Misc/Project_Suggestions.html.

Finally: you can be an inspiration for others to also become a voice for the voiceless.