Upland Animal Shelter has friends to help with fundraising
Friends of the Upland Animal Shelter volunteer Brenda Thall, of Rancho Cucamonga, spends time with one of the cats up for adoption Monday, September 26, 2011, at the Upland Animal Shelter in Upland. ((Jennifer Cappuccio Maher/Staff Photographer))
A group of volunteers, who have been committed to the well being of the animals living in the shelter, have formed Friends of Upland Animal Shelter.
"There are a lot of volunteers that are rally committed to the cause," group President Brenda Thall said. "By organizing, we're able to do fundraisers (as a nonprofit), which we weren't able to do before."
The Friends will focus its efforts on pursuing private donors to provide funding for environmental enrichment, equipment, medical needs and procedures as well as any other shelter needs. They will also apply for grant funding.
just put a face on the united volunteers that we have," Thall said. "People been there for years whether it be taking pictures or grooming or socializing animals. We really wanted to be able to support the shelter in a more organized and formal way."
"We're also able to sponsor events, sponsor adoptions and really
Friends of the Upland Animal Shelter volunteer Nancy Wiegenstein, of Rancho Cucamonga, plays with Joey, a pug mix, up for adoption Monday, September 26, 2011, at the Upland Animal Shelter in Upland. ((Jennifer Cappuccio Maher/Staff Photographer))
The nonprofit is working to increase membership while they focus on two projects: raising money for play yards for the dogs and purchasing additional cat cages.
"We had a really great increase in the foster program this year. As animals come back from foster (care), they need some additional room to place cats," Thall said.
The shelter, which opened in February 2010 at 1275 San Bernardino Road, has been subsidized out of the city's general fund.
The city has been working on a business plan for the shelter to help reduce costs and make operations more efficient. Staffers are working on formalizing the shelter's policies and procedures, said Roberta Knighten, the city's community services director.
"Our goal is to make the subsidy that the city provides to the shelter as close to zero as possible," Knighten said.
The nonprofit will be able to go above and beyond what the city is able to provide, Knighten said.
"The city has a limited number of employees that work there full time for the animals, and we're able to really supplement the staffing," Thall said.
One shelter volunteer makes blankets to be sent home with every pet that is adopted.
Another will take photos of the pets and put them online as well as on poster boards.
Other volunteers will spend hours with cats and dogs getting to know them so they can be matched with the perfect adopter.
"We have one lady that has volunteered every single weekend since the shelter opened, she has not missed a single weekend, to show cats to adopt and she is really be able to place the correct animal with the correct family because she knows them all so well," Thall said.
Friends of Upland Animal Shelter - which held its first meeting on Sept. 9 - will be a coalition member of the Upland Community Foundation, a nonprofit that raises funds for city events and organizations.
For more information on the organization visit www.friendsofuplandanimalshelter.org.
