Over the weekend, the community gathered for laughs to support a particularly vulnerable portion of the population — the furry friends at Pembina Valley Humane Society (PVHS).
Sold-out
The Raise the Woof Comedy Night fundraiser was the highest-attended event in the 13 years that PVHS has put it on.
“It's our biggest ever by over 100 people,” says Caitlin Parr, who has been the fundraising chair of PVHS for four years now but a volunteer with the organization for the better part of a decade. “We had 350 tickets sold, which is mind-blowing. I think it was a huge success.”
The event, which was presented by Winkler Dental, raised $31,000. The funds will be a big help.
New program, improvements for the animals in care
“The money is going to go to all kinds of different things,” says Parr. “We have a new Trap-Neuter-Return Program, and we have a number of different dogs that need some behavioural support.”
Parr says the funds will also go toward PVHS’s facility, at which there is a “lot of need” for upgrades. The plan is to make some improvements to the areas where the organization houses its dogs and cats.
A thriving period
The upgrades and programming funding are made possible by a community that showed support long before the actual event on the 16th. Tickets sold out quickly.
For Parr, who has been the lead for Raise the Woof for 8 years, the record sale of tickets and the speed with which they were claimed indicates both that the team is doing good work and that the Pembina Valley cares.
“It just goes to show how [far] hard work, dedication, a solid volunteer team, and a really supportive board . . . can carry you. I think it shows that we have an incredible community that's willing to show up and support. The lineup for the 50/50 was unending. The lineup at the silent auction was unending. People came here ready to make sure they were supporting the Humane Society,” she says. “It just really warms my heart.”
Related stories:
- Pembina Valley Humane Society launches pilot Trap-Neuter-Return Program
- PVHS breaks decade-long intake record with animal 200
In the end, the funds raised from the Raise the Woof Comedy Night will impact the lives of the animals in the Pembina Valley and allow the humane society to continue its work to look after and protect them.
“It means that we can keep taking more critters. It means that we can make sure we're giving the best possible care to the ones that we have, and then hopefully we can find them all the homes that they really need,” says Parr. “I think everything went really well. I want to thank everybody that supported us — all of our sponsors and the catering staff and the volunteer teams — I'm thrilled.”
See below for pictures of the Raise the Woof Comedy Night with the Pembina Valley Humane Society.
With files from Robyn Wiebe
