Giving Tuesday reminds us to count our blessings and give to help those in need. And who could need your friendship more than a forgotten dog, monkey, or mouse in a lab? Responding to that need with dedication and determination is our motivation and mission at AAVS.

Thanks to your support, AAVS’s affiliate, the Alternatives Research & Development Foundation (ARDF) funds projects to develop humane, non-animal research models that are not only more ethical, but that also advance research and testing for human health. This is one of the most important facets of our work, and you make it possible.

At a time when everyone is mindful of the importance of having biomedical research answers now, when they matter most, it's important to point out one of the main advantages in alternative methods: they are faster. Within days of the COVID-19 infections hitting the U.S., a company was testing a vaccine based on mRNA, while traditional researchers were just beginning to postulate about which animal model to use in testing.