LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Friday is Nexstar’s Founder’s Day of Caring, and every year news stations around the country get out into the community to give back.

Founder’s Day is a day that gives us a chance to get out into the community.

Crews from Team 20 gathered at various organizations around Little Rock to give back to a community we love.

One of the places we volunteered at was the Little Rock Animal Village. The group walked and played with dogs and snuggled and loved on cats to lend a helping hand.

Joanne Colebank, a member of the Board of Directors for Friends of the Animal Village, enjoyed having volunteers out today.

“They’re helping us so much, they’re out here today walking dogs, playing with kittens,” Colebank said.

From dogs to cats to hamsters and even Shetland ponies, the animal village has it all, and she said volunteers help the animals prepare to be adopted.

“That’s what the volunteers do, they socialize them, they get them out, they make them very adoptable pets,” Colebank said.

Another place we volunteered at was Stewpot, an organization that serves lunch to locals. Nancy Howell, a longtime volunteer, and day manager for Stewpot, is out serving lunch five days a week.

“Monday through Friday from 12-1. It’s always in the same place, and that works out to be about 3,000 meals a month that we’re preparing,” Howell said.

She believes that there is a need for the work they’re doing.

“To see people on walkers and with canes and wheelchairs that are making the effort to come up here and get a meal, makes you know that people need it,” Howell said.

Both organizations say without volunteers, they couldn’t do what they do.

“Thank you to all the groups that come and help us out. Either occasionally or regularly because we absolutely could not do it without them,” Howell said.

Our stations loved participating in this day and giving back to the community we love.

To volunteer with the Little Rock Animal Village, visit FriendsOfTheAnimalVillage.org.