2026 For the Love of Animals Calendar

In 1948, Mrs. Anna C. Briggs founded The National Humane Education Society (NHES) as a private,
nonprofit animal welfare organization with a central mission “to
foster a sentiment of kindness to animals in children and adults.”
Today, to achieve its mission, NHES works to educate the
general public, especially children, and provide viable alternatives
to the killing of healthy animals through its program services—
each of which is an integral part of the humane solution to
decreasing animal suffering. Each of these program services
operates from NHES’ 20-acre campus located 65 miles west of
Washington, D.C. near historic Charles Town, West Virginia. These
program services include:

1. Humane Education and Advocacy serves to educate
children and adults about responsible animal stewardship

2. The Briggs Animal Adoption Center (BAAC) is one of
the finest animal care facilities in the country. It provides comprehensive care
and adoption services for cats and dogs that consist of animal
rescue, veterinary medical care including mandatory spay/
neuter before adoption, and socialization/rehabilitation. 

3. Spay Today became a program of NHES in 2001 and
has been providing reduced-cost spay/neuter assistance
for thousands of animals each year through a network of
participating veterinary hospitals whose primary service area
includes portions of West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
and Virginia.

4. Alliance Partnerships are formed with other select standard setting humane organizations whose work embodies NHES’
12 Humane Principles created by Alice Morgan Wright. At
this time, NHES’ partnerships include alliances with other
organizations to fund additional spay/neuter initiatives and/or
feral cat management efforts in Florida, North Carolina as well
as on northern tribal lands. 

Our rescue and rehabilitation of each of the animals featured in
this calendar was made possible by you—and other kind-hearted
people just like you!