The New Year at Orange County Animal Care dawns with a new leg up on fundraising.
The Noble Friends Foundation for OC Animal Care has joined the pack at the county shelter in Orange.
The nonprofit, which was formed by former shelter director Jennifer Phillips and animal advocate Sharon Hayhoe, will be tasked with one mission: Raise money for OCAC pets. Phillips and Hayhoe, the sole board members for now, will be unpaid.
This is the first nonprofit created specifically for the county facility. Similar programs are connected to city shelters in Mission Viejo, Irvine, San Clemente and Dana Point.
Phillips, a Tustin resident, was the top dog at OCAC from 2004-2009; she resigned in January 2009. During her tenure, the shelter’s adoption rate rose nearly 40 percent between 2004 and 2008. And while the numbers were encouraging, OCAC also saw rising intake numbers and euthanasia rates. Phillips knew the shelter desperately needed a nonprofit to help boost resources at the facility.
Sharon Hayhoe and Jennifer Phillips
“OC Animal Care works so hard to provide a safe haven for abandoned and abused animals within our county, they truly deserve our support, encouragement and gratitude,” Phillips said.
Hayhoe, a North Tustin resident, once served as chairwoman of the shelter’s advisory board.
“The management and staff at OC Animal Care are serious about doing the right thing and going above and beyond the call of duty,” Hayhoe said. “In so many cases, people are cynical about government agencies, and often rightfully so — but when people are doing things well and for the right reasons, they deserve to be recognized.”
OCAC contracts with 18 cities in the county to collect, shelter and rehome thousands of pets each year. The shelter, which has 141 fulltime employees and more than 300 volunteers, in 2009 the shelter impounded 26,490 animals, euthanized 13,563 and adopted out 10,255.
The goals of the NFF nonprofit will include:
- Provide OC Animal Care with as much financial assistance as possible through fundraising.
- Increase awareness of the challenges and realities that open-admission shelters face as they care for homeless pets.
- Increase adoptions and decrease instances of euthanasia.
Ryan Drabek, the shelter’s current director, served under Phillips before taking command. His goals at OCAC have mirrored Phillips’: increase adoption, educate the public on spay-neuter and licensing, and improving the overall experience at the shelter.
“When it comes down to it, this is a very caring staff that is very passionate about animals,” Drabek said. He sees the connection to NFF as a win-win for the shelter’s homeless pets.
“The intent is not to take donations and put them toward the light bills,” he said. “Our animals have always been the sole beneficiaries of generous donations, and NFF-OCAC provides the perfect resource to further those funds for our shelter.”
Drabek said contributions from other nonprofits have gone toward supplies such as raised beds and comfort items including toys, blankets and treats for the pets.
The shelter was built in 1941 and has a maximum capacity of 380 dogs, 250 cats and about 50 rabbits. There are plans to build a new shelter in the near future, with the Board of Supervisors still weighing land options for the facility.
Contact Noble Friends Foundation for OC Animal Care at 8502 East Chapman Ave., Suite 351, Orange, 92869. Phone: 714-943-5595 or email contact@noblefriendsfoundation.org.
Follow @sammigo on Twitter | Become a fan of Pet Tales on Facebook
Add Pet Tales to your Yahoo and iGoogle pages | Get email alerts
Email your pet photos to sgowen@ocregister.com
.
….WOOF!
 |
….MEOW!
|
Nonprofit debuts for county animal shelter is a post from: Pet Tales
