PJs and Paws fundraiser nets $32,000 for Cape animal shelter
Canines and felines of the Cape Coral Animal Shelter had a tail-wagging good time last Friday night.
CCAS’s inaugural “Pj’s and Paws – a Night at the Shelter to benefit the animals” saw 15 local celebrities and business reps cozy up in their best “pawjamas” to raise money to benefit the shelter.
Participants were matched with one of CCAS’ resident dogs or assigned to one of their cat manors and invited to decorate their “suite” to impress their “date.”
The shelter eclipsed its goal and raised $32,000.
“It was fantastic. Everybody had a great time,” said CCAS Executive Director Liz McCauley. “I’m not sure who had more fun, the animals or the people.”
Via social media and live streams, participants put their networking skills to work and raised funds to support the less-than-a-year-old shelter that already has found new homes for nearly 1,000 animals.
Those taking part said they had a great time for a great cause.
Gloria Tate of Raso Realty raised the largest amount for the shelter and could be seen on social media giving belly scratches to her new friend, Gracie.
“We had so much fun,” Tate said. “It was a wonderful night for the shelter. Everybody went wild with decorations and really did a great job for Valentine’s Day with hearts and all sorts of things and treats for the dogs. It was just a really great experience.”
Animal-loving “celebrities” ran the gamut from long-tenured residents like Tate to relative newcomers to the Cape.
“Being so new to the Cape, I was thrilled and honored to be asked to participate in the first ever PJ’s and Paws fundraising event,” said Amy Hanna-Eckenrode, who represented Breeze Newspapers and Hampton Manor of Cape Coral.
Through her efforts, Eckenrode was able to raise nearly $1,000 to benefit the shelter.
McCauley said thanks to the participants’ efforts, the shelter plans to have its low-cost clinic fully operational by the end of the month to meet the high demand they have been experiencing and be able to help the community in a greater capacity.
“It was a great way for us to do an event and raise some money without having to have a lot of people in one place,” McCauley said. “Our clinic is going full speed ahead. Being able to operate six days a week is going to allow us help more animals and people, and save more animals’ lives. Every penny here means so much to us.”
She said it was great to see bonds quickly form between participants (some of whom had never been to the shelter before) and their new four-legged-friends while spreading the word of all the shelter has to offer.
“It was heartwarming to see,” McCauley said. “We had people from all walks of life participate in this and, through their network, brought us in front of people that either didn’t even know CCAS existed or just wouldn’t think to contribute.”
Eckenrode was a perfect example of the broad reach this fundraiser provided for the shelter.
“So many of my contributors are first-time donators from all over the country and that makes me feel good that we were able to promote the Cape Coral Animal Shelter to such a vast audience and solicit donations from so many new people who don’t even reside in the Cape but care equally about the welfare of our animals no matter the physical location,” she said.
For additional information about the CCAS, adoptable animals and its low-cost clinic, please visit www.capecoralanimalshelter.com.
Donations are always welcome.
–Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj