Voice for the voiceless: SEK Humane Society director reflects on career
Pittsburg, Kan — Eight years ago, the Southeast Kansas Humane Society was in need of help. A desperate call to one of their volunteers was made, and Jasmine Kyle stepped into the role of business and promotions manager.
Despite a tumultuous past year in which budget crises have threatened its ability to stay open, the humane society is open and helping shelter and find homes for animals under the direction of Jasmine Kyle.
The organization has grown in many ways in her time there, from new shelter buildings to new events.
“At the end of the day, it’s all for the fur babies, you know?” Kyle said.
Finding a career
The daughter of a nuclear engineer for the submarine division of the U.S. Navy, Jasmine Kyle grew up moving around a lot.
“My dad was a nuclear engineer for the submarine division,” she said, “so we went coast to coast to coast to coast, and then life happens, and we settle down in the middle of Kansas.”
Kyle was a theatre kid, so much so that she received an invitation to Julliard in New York after she had completed her associate of arts at Coffeyville Community College. Kyle would ultimately decide not to take that invite.
“That side of the industry is so unreal.” Kyle said, “Unfortunately only 1% make it, and I wanted something a little bit more stable.”
So, instead, Kyle moved into broadcast. Her two options for schooling were K-State and Pittsburg State University, and she ultimately decided to go with PSU.
Shortly before graduation, though, she decided that the environment of news was not for her.
“We were very close to graduating, and the news, if you don’t remember, was really, really just toxic, sadly,” she said. “There were all the school bombings happening, and it was just one bad news piece after another, after another, after another.”
Stepping away, Kyle decided that she wanted to work for more nonprofits and more city driven organizations.
One path leads to another
Kyle didn’t ever think she would go into animal welfare when she was younger, but after stepping away from the news industry, she began to work for the City of Pittsburg. She started her time with the city at Memorial Auditorium and quickly moved to a job within the Parks and Recreation Department.
Seven years later, during her final year with the city, she began to foster for the Southeast Kansas Humane Society.
It began with fostering kittens, as Kyle is allergic to dogs. She had originally wanted a pet because she had never had one before—growing up they weren’t allowed, as her mom was allergic to both dogs and cats.
At this time in her life, fostering was the best option because she wanted to do something meaningful with another organization, and because of strict pet rules on rental living spaces.
As a kitten foster parent, she built a strong relationship with the SEK Humane Society. She began to volunteer with the shelter and then, eight years ago, the Humane Society board members reached out in search of Kyle’s help. The board asked if she could come and make a difference, and she accepted.
Creating change from within
Originally, she was brought onto the humane society team as their business and promotions manager.
Her first challenge to overcome at the SEK Humane Society was their system. Before Kyle took over, their filing system was all pen and paper, but since her time there, the shelter has moved to a database.
During Kyle’s time with the organization, another dog building has been constructed, and much needed renovations have been made to the animal quarantine area. Kyle has also broadened the shelter’s community outreach, bringing them from around a dozen events a year to over 40.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, tragedy hit the humane society. Many animals were being dumped, intakes were up, the shelter was at capacity, but there was one story that Kyle said demonstrates how the shelter turned a sad moment into something bigger and more beneficial.
A woman had brought in her daughter along with their golden retriever, ready to surrender the dog that they had raised from a puppy. Kyle recalls the woman saying, “do I feed my dog or do I feed my daughter?”
Immediately after this encounter, she called the United States Humane Society and told them about this ongoing problem, that people did not have enough funds to support their pets in this time of crisis.
Then, Chewy, the online pet retailer, stepped in. They held back supplies that were misprinted or had slight errors that they weren’t legally able to sell and provided them to animal shelters in need.
The SEK Humane Society was able to receive over 50,000 pounds of pet food for the community in 2020, and they have been operating this pet food giveaway every year since.
