The Vampire Diaries actor Ian Somerhalder is passionate about animals and the environment, and next month he will appear at a charity event in Louisiana, hoping to raise money for an animal sanctuary.

It has been announced that Somerhalder will be participating in the Best Friends Animal Society‘s annual Strut Your Mutt event, which will take place on September 22 at 9 a.m. in Park Sans Souci in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Somerhalder is already campaigning for better treatment of animals through his Ian Somerhalder Foundation. At this dog-walking event, Ian Somerhalder will serve as team captain for the ISF team, and the goal is to raise $150,000, which they will use to open up the Ian Somerhalder Animal Sanctuary.

Apart from taking in neglected and mistreated pets, Somerhalder’s new animal sanctuary will also be a place for young people, serving as a facility for kids who have bullied others, and who can “develop compassion and leadership skills” by helping care for the animals.

As he explains, “our sanctuary will be a safe place for all types of awesome creatures, including abused and abandoned pets.” And why this sanctuary will serve this dual purpose is simple:

Youth is our most important and most under-utilized resource. We want to empower young people to change the planet for the better and part of that will come through watching the healing process of another living being. This is a big, beautiful, awesome dream and I know we can achieve it if we all work together!

This reflects the work Somerhalder is already doing to preserve the planet through his work with the ISF.

Ian Somerhalder explains that he really admires the Best Friends Animal Society’s work, saying that, “Their passion for helping pets really inspired me to work towards building an Animal Sanctuary through the ISF.”

If you want to learn more about the Strut Your Mutt event and how to get involved, visit the website for more information.