One Paw at a Time
Cadence Christenson in front of one of her local animal shelters, after she delivered supplies to the shelter as a part of her nonprofit, AniMend.
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” — Elbert Hubbard
Cadence Christenson, the president of the Rolling Meadows High School FFA Chapter, took this saying literally when she created a lemonade stand to start her nonprofit organization, AniMend. This organization aims to provide animal essentials to local animal shelters. She also used her platform to create a National FFA Week activity centered around service to help her community.
Paws-itively Perfect
“I started volunteering at a local animal rescue a few years ago. I saw that they were short [on] supplies and I wanted to start something to help make a difference in animal shelter,” said Christenson.
In May 2025, Christenson started to fundraise to acquire the documents required to become a nonprofit. To do this, she created a lemonade stand with her friends. They went door-to-door advertising for their stand and were about to raise $1,600. With this money, her organization received its 501(c)(3) through the state and federal government, and started a website.
Then, on Aug. 26, 2025, the organization was officially incorporated. With this, the AniMend bylaws were drafted, and the board of directors was set. Lastly, AniMend officially became a nonprofit corporation in September of 2025.
Christenson is hugging with a cat while she works at a local animal shelter.
Leashing Up Supplies
In July, during her chapter’s officer retreat as they were planning for the upcoming year, someone brought up the topic of FFA Week events. They wanted to create a “fun event with a purpose” and Christenson immediately thought of her nonprofit. Together, the team came up with the idea of hosting a competition to see which class could collect the most items.
As National FFA Week got closer, they hashed out the details. To begin, each class would have a small box within it. Then, at the end of the week these would be collected and counted before being placed in the larger collection box in the ag room. Also, the winning team would receive a doughnut party.
“The FFA Week event was a huge success! One of our school’s culinary classes brought in the most items and will have doughnuts delivered to their classroom,” said Christenson.
In total, the school brought in 133 items, among them: 17 blankets, 22 towels, 34 units of animal food, 14 toys, 39 units of animal treats and lots of other supplies. All this was donated to three different animal shelters: Border Tails Rescue, Wright-Way Rescue, and St. Sophia’s Forgotten Felines.
This is one of the big bins that collected items during the Rolling Meadows High School FFA Chapter’s National FFA Week supply drive.
Out of the Doghouse
“My two greatest passions are animals and creating change. AniMend is the culmination of those lifelong passions,” said Christenson.
Cadence Christenson combined her passions to create AniMend, and used her platform to host an inspiring National FFA Week event. Through this, she was able to collect 133 essentials to provide to her local animal shelters to directly impact the health and well-being of hundreds of animals. To donate or learn more about Christenson’s story, visit the AniMend website!
