Build a Community

One young person’s story and how she is already making a difference for animals in Canada.

Aileen Jun (in her own words)

I’m a grade twelve high school student in Waterloo, Ontario. After I adopted my first dog and cat, I became very interested in animal rights.

As someone very passionate about animal advocacy, I wanted to share my passion through the power of social media. I created an advocacy and awareness account called @Pawesitivee on Instagram. Apart from that, I volunteer at the Toronto Cat Rescue where I perform in-store tasks and go in at various times to take photos and write bios to help the cats get adopted sooner.

I’m also a volunteer at Eight Paws Dog Rescue, where I help with social media work and format bios. This organization takes dogs from the streets of South Korea and gives them a second chance here. This organization hits home for me as I’m Korean; volunteering with this organization made me sad to see how badly some of the traditional dogs (Jindos) are treated; but it’s also an opportunity to help them.

I recently began a small business on Etsy where I sell self-illustrated stickers and donate 10% of the proceeds to an animal welfare organization. Living with a dog and a cat while seeing similar animals get abused on the streets is an eye-opening experience and I hope to introduce others to a positive animal perspective.

I want to pursue a career in law where I can generate bigger changes for the unspoken victims of our world.