WACO, TX — March of 2020 was only the beginning to one of the toughest years yet for non-profits across the country.
“In March when people where working from home, they decided this is a great time to adopt a dog or a cat. And even still today that is still going on, if there is a silver lining, which there really is not a silver lining, but its been good for our adoptions,” said Betsy Robinson, Founder and Executive Director of Fuzzy Friends Rescue.
Fuzzy Friends Rescue was one of the many local non-profits that took a major hit during the pandemic.
The rescue relies on two major fundraising events each year to cover building costs and vet bills, but this year Fuzzy Friends had to go without all fundraising events and including their biggest event of the year: the Barkin’ Ball.
“Every year on New Year’s Eve, we always had the ball. It’s a big fundraising event for Fuzzy Friends and raises the majority of their funds for the year. Obviously this year with the COVID, we have deferred that to April of sometime,”said Jim Therrell, partner of JRBT and sponsor of virtual raffle fundraiser.
“It’s just really been tough. I am not a naïve person at all, but I had never dreamed how this was going to effect our fundraising efforts in 2020. It’s been tough,”said Robinson.
The Barkin’ Ball would’ve taken place tonight and raised around $100,000 for the rescue.
But this year, in order to help, the shelter received generous sponsors from the community to take part in a virtual ticket raffle.
“This year in 2020 is a rough time for a lot of non-profits organizations in Waco, so we are here just to help those organizations and Fuzzy Friends is a great one that we support,” said Therrell.
“The adoption fees, while the adoptions have been steady and great, we could not survive without people who believe in this mission. And people responded in a tremendous way. We are so grateful to everyone who bought a ticket. We raised a little over $20,000,” said Robinson.
As we say goodbye to the new year, Fuzzy Friends has a lot of hopes for 2021 and will continue to take in new animals to help find them forever homes.
The Barkin’ Ball is rescheduled for April of 2021, and they are now selling tickets for the event. If you are interested in buying tickets to the event you can email marketing@fuzzyfriendsrescue.com or call (254)714-2150.
Or, if you are interested in adopting an animal, you must call Fuzzy Friends Rescue ahead of time to set up an appointment at (254)754-9444.
