Help Seniors and Their Pets Fight Hunger This Holiday Season
I just heard about a great new charity drive that helps Seniors and their pets fight hunger. Here are the details:
Season Of Suppers®, “A Pet Food Drive For Pets In Need,” taking place during November and December, aims to help more seniors and their Pets fight hunger.
For some seniors, getting around easily is not an option. Often, their best friend and only companion is a loving dog or cat. The Season of Suppers campaign, now in its third year, calls attention to the importance of Pets to the well-being of homebound seniors. Helping keep these companion Pets well- fed, healthy and part of the family for as long as possible became the motivating factor behind the partnership among Banfield, The Pet Hospital, the Banfield Charitable Trust (BCT) and Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA).
Phil Shippers, director of the Visiting Nurse Meals On Wheels program of Rochester, N.Y., knows the importance of getting the message out that homebound seniors with Pets are a vulnerable population.
“We know that many seniors in our community are compromising their own nutrition by sharing their meals with their Pets,” says Shippers.
Last year, Banfield’s Season of Suppers campaign raised more than $51,000 to help 50 senior meal programs start or augment Pet feeding programs across the country.
In addition to donating Pet food and monetary contributions at local Banfield hospitals, supporters can participate in the campaign by purchasing full-color, Pet-themed note cards. A packet of eight cards will be sold for $10 and all of the proceeds from the note card sales, as well as monetary donations throughout the campaign, will be used to improve the lives of MOWAA recipients and their Pets.
Supporters may also purchase cards by contacting the Banfield Charitable Trust at (503) 922-5801 or writing to info@banfieldcharitabletrust.org
For more information, go to the Banfield website.
That is an awesome idea, Skeezy. I wonder how hard it would be to do something like that with our local MOWA?
This is great. I have Realizing Dreams Thru Dogs, a service and therapy dog organization. Not only do we reach out to other thru our therapy visits, but we assist the elderly with their companions. I offer food and grooming to them at no charge. It is true that in some cases this pet is their only companion and they sometimes need help since they are on limited fixed income. It is always wonderful to see others out there helping do the same.
It would be really great if everyone on Catster could send in info for their local programs that support “meals on wheels” for pets. Could the Catster crew maybe make such a list if the info was sent in?
I just wanted to let everyone know that Realizing Dreams Thru Dogs does not leave out the people that have cats as companions. If some of the elderly that I come in contact with have a cat, I get their info and provide all necessary food and care for their cat. We even make special appts on days when my therapy dog is not present and make visits to make sure the living conditions are good and there are no other needs like kitty litter and stuff like that. We like to ensure they are keeping up with the cat’s shots and all so their companion can stay healty for them.