Madison Middle Beta Club donates to feline rescue
Apr. 29—Sierra Marling
On April 25, Madison Middle School's Beta Club arrived at the Richmond Centre PetSmart to celebrate their donation to the Caring Hearts Feline Rescue Program.
The students spent the afternoon playing with the kittens near a table full of donations they collected on behalf of the felines.
Their recent fundraising efforts allowed them to contribute approximately $300 in donations, including $220 cash, to the rescue program.
Virginia Bratcher is the mind behind the Caring Hearts Feline Rescue Program. She expressed great gratitude for the large donation, especially since it all stemmed from a local adoption with the organization.
Dina Masters, who is a sixth-grade social studies teacher at Madison Middle School, said adopting her kitten, Canyon, from the rescue was a "great" experience that her students also wanted to be a part of.
Grace Wilson, the student president of the Beta Club, explained the club is an honor society that also executes community service and fundraising efforts for various causes — both by themselves and through other in-school and community collaborations.
The Caring Hearts Feline Rescue Program donation project was planned by some of Masters' sixth graders. They brought the issue to the Beta Club, planned it, and advertised it themselves.
"We're really proud of what they put forward and how they planned it and what they did to advertise it," said Wilson.
The rescue program takes in both kittens and older cats, and they come to the rescue from various sources, including from owners who can no longer care for them and cat colonies.
Bratcher then works to find them homes. One of the ways she does this is through the Caring Hearts Feline Rescue Program's ongoing partnership with PetSmart.
According to PetSmart Store Manager Derek Stevens, PetSmart Charities partners with different local adoption agencies to find homes for different animals, including cats. In this case, PetSmart provides the space for the rescue's cats to be viewed and adopted by customers.
In addition, they maintain a donation space where customers and locals can place items, such as food, litter, and toys, for those community partners.
"We're a conduit to get the cat some face time, and we serve as a partner with the shelters so that they can get their animals out to good homes," Steven remarked.
This has been a valuable partnership for the rescue — with Bratcher going as far as to dub it a "godsend" — as many more cats are being adopted with their assistance.
"Before, we were lucky if we got about three adopted a week — that was if we were fortunate. Some weeks were better than others, of course... It's a huge difference," Bratcher said.
Bratcher explained the organization's biggest need is for cash donations, as those are flexible donations that ultimately go towards paying veterinary bills, spay and neuter services, and other medical treatments.
However, volunteers can also donate their time by fostering some of the rescue's cats. Anna Lueker is Bratcher's neighbor and is part of one of the organization's consistent foster families.
As a foster family, Lueker said foster families keep cats until they can be spayed, neutered, socialized, and vaccinated, then they can be adopted.
"All we do is take care of the cats until she [Bratcher] finds a home for them... We just get to play and make sure that they're also socialized," she explained.
In terms of care, Lueker added that "Caring Hearts takes care of everything."
"I think it is a great program and a way to help animals find loving, caring homes. So and it's lots of fun to be a part of," she said.
