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The Results Of Our Quick Fundraiser To Raise Donations For Government Furloughed Workers
Update as of 1/13/19 – Since I posted this article, we have collected another $175 bringing our total to $1575!
John and I put together an impromptu fundraiser on Facebook last night to raise funds in the hope of getting a food donation together for humans. Costco is in our future.
With that plan for humans in place, our minds and hearts turned to the animals who will be affected when their owners can no longer afford their care. Will they be surrendered to overfull rescues where they might be euthanized? Will they be turned out to fend for themselves on the streets?
Not if we have anything to say about it….
Most people I know who are true animal lovers would choose to feed their pets before themselves – including us. We knew that, along with the human donation, we needed to set aside a small amount of funds for the animals.
Our Fundraiser For Government Furloughed Workers Showed Quick Results
I posted the fundraiser to my Facebook page while John sent out an email to his coworkers at Otsuka Pharmaceuticals.
Within 3 hours, we had a total of $1400!
$800 of those funds was money donated from John’s coworkers – they certainly didn’t disappoint! The other $600 came from my friends and family who helped us by responding to the Facebook post.
What We’re Doing Now
With some google searching, we’ve found a human food pantry, Manna, in Rockville, MD, that has a special program to help government furloughed workers.
Since the human pantry closes at 1:30 today and is closed tomorrow (Sunday), we’ve pushed the human donation off to Monday morning, Jan 14, 2019. I will go to Costco in the morning and fill the truck with as much as $1200 will buy.
In the meantime, it was time to hit the streets and find supplies for the dogs and cats.
Petsmart Donation
John and I agreed that we would take $200 of the $1400 raised and purchase animal food. We also agreed that we needed to get small bags of food, like 5 lb bags, so a shelter didn’t have to split larger bags into separate donations.
My first stop was Petsmart in Germantown, MD where the nice manager could only offer me 10% off. I spent $20 mostly on reduced cost cat supplies. I was a bit disappointed that the discount couldn’t be more but, that’s life. I was grateful for even that small stretch in our funds.
And Then There Was PetValu!
My next stop was the local PetValu in Clarksburg, MD. And, let me tell ya, we hit the jackpot there!
The manager, Melissa, listened to what we were hoping to do and was all IN for the mission! She and store employee, Rhonda, were about to help make our goal come true.
She and Rhonda pointed to a bin that was marked ‘Donate Today.’ This bin is generally used to collect those items that can’t be sold. Pet rescues and shelters come through and routinely grab whatever is there.
Even though John and I didn’t represent an organization, Melissa told us to take ‘any or all’ of the bin! We took all! With their help in loading, the back seat of the truck was filled to the brim with dog food, cat food, toys, kitty litter, and all sorts of items that any pet owner would really appreciate.
As Rhonda and I loaded up the truck, Melissa walked through the Petvalu store and inspected the shelves looking for items where the expiration date on the dog or cat food was approaching. Bag after bag after bag of dog and cat food was loaded in our cart for either a greatly reduced price (75% off) or for free!
In the end, our receipt shows that, for just $186.97, we received a total savings of $434.39. AND, that’s WITHOUT the donated items in the bin. There goes our $200, and, it brought more than we could have ever imagined!
I came home, opened the back door of the truck, and cried. The warmth of the donations just flooded over me. I cried.
With the help of some amazing people, we are about to help furloughed government workers feed and keep their animals.
There is no better reward than that.
And, we are grateful.
