It was like putting homeless puppies in front of an animal rights activist.

I was in a weirdly generous mood when I agreed to help the NYU alumni group. I had been watching one too many re-runs of the OC, wishing I was a Junior Deb with my own Charity Event, when the allure of throwing parties for NYU called my name.

At first the selfish self-promotion side of me was like YES, I'll make contacts, have free booze, and be the queen bee with a built in following. The animal rights activist with the pedigree puppy and the red ribbon tied around it's neck.

But then, once I finally saw the dismal state the alumni group was in, my heart melted a little. Having never been in the position of not having a built in social network, it was always a little hard for me to understand or relate to someone who's from a small town, or completely new to LA with only one or two acquaintances to their name, but I realized that I could do something more. I could help really build a community.

What do all strays really need? A good shelter, with someone to feed them, wash them, to really take care of them. The structure was in place, but it was held together by tape and twigs. As a friend pointed out, it's hard to find volunteers to give people what they actually need, considering the people who generally have the time to volunteer aren't really the one's in touch with the demands of the population.

The first event I went to, they struggled to get 30 people to show up. The next one I threw, 80... and we're now at 260 for our Holiday party. Our numbers are growing and our mentorship program is getting wings. This is the start of something great. A Hotel for Dogs, if I were to be cliche.