New Year Brings Changes at BTC4Animals.com

In April 2010, more than 50 pet bloggers participated in an experiment choosing one day to blog about a plethora of animal needs. Inspired by the strength and support of this passionate animal community, Kim Clune of This One Wild Life wanted to recapture the energy of that day, create a central place to share information regularly, and bring people together to make a difference for all animals, domestic and wild.

Kim shared her thoughts with Amy Burkert of GoPetFriendly.com, and together, they felt an unmistakable energy, a creative spark and the determination to bring their ideas to fruition. Kim developed a website to create a community connection through quarterly Blog the Change events, and Amy brought Cause of the Week to the table.

Within the span of a year, volunteer writers and cause scouts coalesced to form Team BTC, making it a community-run website managed by Kim with valuable, democratic input from all. By 2011, the BTC community had grown to more than 12,000 supporters, and the work of each team member was recognized when BTC4animals.com won the 2011 Petties Award for Best Cause Blog.

Since that time, Be the Change for Animals has continued to grow and evolve. New members have joined Team BTC and others have retired, but Kim Clune continued to be the team leader for 2 ½ years – a long time for anyone to be in that position, but especially difficult for Kim because she was dealing with a variety of personal and professional concerns that were consuming more and more of her time.

In December 2012, Team BTC agreed to take a hiatus so team members could spend time with their families and so Kim could decide what her ongoing role would be. On January 4, Kim posted the following on BTC4Animals.com:

“There were many attempts to keep BTC fresh and in constant motion, but a single person to lead that charge tends to accentuate limitations rather than expand the effort. My wish for BTC becoming a strong movement is now finally coming to fruition, which means that my 2+ years launching this project has come to an end.

But this is no end. 

Welcome to the beginning of the greatest social experiment that I have ever had the privilege to be part of. While I will forever remain a humble member of your community, it takes a great leap of faith to give up full control, to trust in my successors, and to believe that the BTC mission is one strong enough to survive. I assure you, I have that faith.”

I thank Kim for her vision, passion and leadership. Under her guidance, Be the Change for Animals has grown from the germ of an idea into a website developed by two passionate pet bloggers, and then into a team of nearly a dozen bloggers. Blog the Change for Animals has gone from a one-time event to a quarterly event with over 50 pet bloggers participating on a regular basis. And the BTC4Animals community has grown to nearly 20,000 supporters on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest!

So I believe that Kim has earned a well-deserved rest from her leadership role. She has launched her fledglings and is now ready to leave the nest herself. But don’t go too far, Kim – Blog the Change Day is January 15th!