Amber’s Building: Mixing Creativity and Social Activism

Several years ago, I started mixing social activism into my creative work. First, I blogged about fostering dogs in the rural South, then I wrote a book called Catching Dawn about what happens to strays in my neighborhood. Both were rewarding for different reasons, but I never saw any substantial change. Until now. Until we produced a documentary about Amber Reynolds, a warrior battling on the front lines of the animal overpopulation problem in Western TN . 

Let me explain. While we were filming Amber’s Halfway Home, Amber kept talking about a building. She wanted to build a facility to house all the homeless dogs she rescues. She talked about this structure like it was a dream, a dream that might never happen. Amber’s Halfway Home Animal Rescue exists solely on donations. And although she tries to save funds for her building, the hard reality is that most of the money goes to food and medical bills. Amber’s outstanding balance at the vet is rarely in the black. Since I’ve known her, it’s never been below several thousand. 

Right now, some of the 80-plus dogs in her care stay in her family’s home or in her husband’s garage, which she confiscated a year ago. But, some stay outside in pens with dirt floors. She does everything possible to make them comfortable. They all have buckets of water and houses for shelter. She fills their cages with wood chips but they need to be changed daily. If it rains or snows, Amber covers the cages with tarps. But sometimes, when it’s windy, the tarps blow away. 

This past winter, while we were editing the documentary, we had a week or two of ice and snow. I often thought about those dogs and about Amber. I thought about her cleaning wood chips and waste. Breaking up frozen water bowls. I knew it would take hours for her to clean out all the cages. I also knew she started working before the sun rose. 

I told my creative accomplice Pidge that if this film raises enough money for Amber’s building, then I would drop the mic. Is it cool that film festivals are selecting our documentary? Yes. Would it be even cooler if we won some recognition? Hell yes. But a building for Amber will save thousands of dogs. It will also make Amber’s job easier. For me, that’s as meaningful as any award.

Fast-forward nine months: in August, we had our first private screening of Amber’s Halfway Home. When the documentary ended, some incredible person walked up to Amber and handed her a check. A check that covers 80% of the cost of that building she’s been dreaming about. When Amber showed me the check, she was shaking. She was stunned. I was stunned. We cried a little. We hugged a lot. 

During the next week, I was on cloud nine. For the first time, at that screening, I witnessed what could happen by mixing creativity and social activism. I saw how stories can wield power, the power to change the world. Maybe only a small piece of it, but a piece nonetheless, and that gives me goose bumps.