I'm Cody Allen and I am the founder of Cody's Friends.
Animal shelters and pet rescues are constantly in need of food and supplies.
Without help, many shelters and animals won't survive.
Dedicated rescuers work very hard to save lives,
but often don't have enough food to feed hungry animals.
People in need will do anything to prevent their pet from starving.
They're willing to do anything before they let their pets suffer,
so it's very important to us that we help
those people out so they don't have to
sacrifice some of their hard-earned money that they need desperately.
Eight years ago, at just 10 years of age, Cody decided
that saving the lives of animals in his community was a great way for him to
make a difference.
I was in the 5th grade and we had to do a project on someone
who was influential and I chose John F. Kennedy and one of his quotes was,
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
So based off of that project, I wanted to do something to help the community of
Tucson and I always really loved animals.
He said, "If I can get my friends to work with me,
then we can do a whole lot more together."
So, with the help of his parents, his sister and a few friends,
bright-eyed ambitious Cody created Cody's Friends
and dedicated himself to feeding as many animals as possible.
We would go out to front porches in our neighborhood
and we would pick up donations and then we
would deliver it directly to the rescue groups.
Cody began contacting food manufacturers and animal advocates who might be able
to donate food and supplies for dogs and cats.
The more food that we are able to distribute,
the more people were helping.
Slowly but surely, help started to pour in.
And in time, a few boxes of supplies and stacks of food became truckloads of
pet food and essentials.
So as previously we were helping Tucson and now we're
helping, you know, the entire state of Arizona.
Eventually, Cody's stockpile became so big that he needed a warehouse of his own.
We were able to just keep growing and eventually we got this building which we could use
to store all the food.
A connection with a national rescue bank program helped
Cody reach even more people in Arizona.
My mom will get calls from people at
Rescue Bank and they will tell her that they have a truckload of food and they
will schedule a day where that food can be delivered and then the rescue groups
will come on distribution days to pick up that food.
When you provide donated product,
that allows these groups to put money where it's most needed, to save
more lives, things that get these pets into forever homes.
The warehouse accepts weekly deliveries by the truckload.
Last year we distributed over a million pounds of pet food and supplies to
rescue groups across the state of Arizona.
Today, our sponsor, Chicken Soup for the Soul Pet Food,
is one of those generous donors.
In addition to providing the community with a constant food source, rescues and
shelter organizers for hungry pets can drop by and take whatever they need.
We have leashes and bowls and food and all kinds of supplies back here if you
guys want anything.
Awesome. Thank you so much!
Here you go.
It alleviates a lot because if a dog chews up a food bowl, we don't have to
panic about going out and spending $40 on new food bowls.
Cody's Friends gives us food, blankets, almost anything we need
for fosters to help with the animals. We're very thankful.
We bring two trucks at a time and they will fill us up.
Fostering multiple pets can be costly too, so the
pet food distribution program also helps foster parents, like dog foster Cher
her two senior Shih Tzu's, Perla and Sarge.
With Cody's Friends, were able to get food,
dog food, cat food. We're also able to get kennels, leashes, bowls, kitty
litter, beds, especially for the older animals.
Without the help of Cody's Friends, you would have to literally be buying about
$200 to $300 more a week in food.
None of this could be possible without
the work of all the amazing volunteers.
Everyone here is a volunteer. We have over 20 volunteers who come in pretty regularly.
Without them, we wouldn't be able to do any of this.
But Cody's dream of helping animals in need doesn't end in Arizona.
I definitely want to keep distributing more and more and more pet
food and also maybe distribute more food to other states or nationwide.
When people pitch in small amounts, we can have huge impacts and Cody is the
perfect example of that. He is just an inspiration to us.
For all he does in this animal community and beyond, Cody Allen is certainly a hero for animals.
With Cody being 10 years old and starting Cody's Friends, it just
gives you hope for our future. Without something like this amazing guy, these
rescues wouldn't be able to survive without him.
Cody is amazing. He had this vision to help animals
and he realized that children actually have a voice for them
and the animals don't.
I'm proud of Cody. Cody has a good heart.
The support of the people is definitely what has been inspiring me to
keep going and keep growing Cody's Friends and it definitely means a
lot to me.