About Us
STRAYS HALFWAY HOUSE was founded in 1981 by local residents Belinda Olsen and the late Sharon Gawlik.  Strays HH is a licensed, all volunteer, not-for-profit organization dedicated to rescuing stray and abandoned animals from animal control facilities and shelters throughout the Chicagoland Suburbs.  We do not have a central "shelter" as all of our animals are placed in foster homes until forever homes can be found.

OUR GOALS:

·         to save adoptable stray animals from being destroyed. 

·         to identify and return lost animals to their original homes and owners.

·         to educate the public, both adults and children, on responsible pet ownership and the necessity and reason for altering their pets, thus, reducing the surplus of unwanted animals.

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of strictly 100% volunteers.  There are no paid positions.  Our payments come from the faces of happy dogs, playful kittens, and purring cats.  One of the proudest moments in fostering is when a lost, unwanted stray can go home with a doting family - and look forward to a lifetime of reliable, consistent care and love.  We rely on the support of our members and friends and have various fundraising events throughout the year to help with the costs for the stray animal’s needs.

One of our educational goals is to introduce proper, responsible animal ownership to the children of our community. We feel that this is very important - if we can reach the children we also reach the parents. It is very important that they become educated about the proper care of a "living thing." We also routinely visit nursing homes in the area, where both the animals and the residents benefit from direct interaction.