The Hay River Animal Shelter collected more than $4,000 through its recent involvement in the Betty White Challenge.
A popular veteran Hollywood actress, White died on Dec. 31 at the age of 99. Among her activism was animal welfare causes.
A social media movement swiftly took shape not long after her passing, encouraging people to donate $5 to an animal welfare society of their choice. People were encouraged to donate money to support animals and then challenge others to do the same.
Kori Bourne, owner/manager of the Hay River Animal Shelter, said that a few people in the community reached out to her to start a local Betty White fundraiser. She followed through with a period for people to donate SA国际影视传媒� from Jan. 8 up to WhiteSA国际影视传媒檚 birthday on Jan. 17.
SA国际影视传媒淚 finally decided to go through with it because obviously if I have people asking me about it, and then theySA国际影视传媒檙e in support of it, I thought it would be a good thing to go ahead with,SA国际影视传媒� said Bourne. SA国际影视传媒淥n the Monday, on Betty WhiteSA国际影视传媒檚 birthday of Jan. 17, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 when it just kind of blew up. We ended up with a lot of donations through our PayPal account, which is where people can donate by clicking on a link and then you can pay with a credit card or a Visa debit card.SA国际影视传媒�
People also used e-transfers through the shelterSA国际影视传媒檚 email account.
The tally by the end of the campaign was $4,004.16, however support also included an option where people could purchase supplies, Bourne added. The figure was large, she said, because people ended up donating far more than the $5 minimum.
SA国际影视传媒淚 was actually really shocked with how many people were donating $20, $25, $50,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚 think we had maybe about 10, if not a bit more, that actually donated $100 at a time.
SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 a lot of money to come into our small shelters and all of that money is going towards spaying and neutering our animals.SA国际影视传媒�
The donated money is transferred to the Hay River Animal Welfare Society to cover the costs of spaying and neutering when the vet comes to town, Bourne noted. When people adopt an animal from the shelter, they then donSA国际影视传媒檛 have to worry about the cost of that expensive operation.
She estimated that the funds raised could cover the spay and neutering needs for 16 to 20 animals over about four months. Usually the shelter arranges for two to four animals a month to be spayed or neutered, she added.
As of Jan. 19, the shelter had six dogs and six cats, which is roughly the facilitySA国际影视传媒檚 capacity, and only four of those animals were available for adoption as of Jan. 24.
