Donating $13,002 in a single day to the Delta Community Animal Shelter (DCAS), Delta certainly rose to the #BettyWhiteChallenge Monday, on what would have been the beloved actress, comedian and animal lover’s 100th birthday.
“I’m absolutely in awe of the generosity of the citizens of Delta and other community members, our adopters, our followers who are all animal lovers and are passionate about the care that we provide here at DCAS. It was an absolutely incredible day,” says Ryan Voutilainen, shelter manager.
Following a Facebook post from the shelter on Jan. 17 encouraging the community to participate in the challenge honoring White – who regularly supported animal welfare organizations – comments, shares and, most significantly, donations began to pour in.
To put that into perspective, in the entire month of December, $15,161 was donated to the shelter.
“I really didn’t know what kind of impact we would see here, but it was absolutely incredible and I’m still a bit gobsmacked on the amount of donations that we did receive and the amount of people contacting us and engaging with us to make donations,” he said.
Between White’s passing on Dec. 31 and up until her birthday on Jan. 17, the shelter received $175 in her name, he says, and will likely receive more donations trickling in following her birthday.
The donations go towards supporting the animals they receive at the shelter and allows them to go above and beyond the basic treatments that would be covered by their normal budget.
Things like amputations, supporting cats who are diabetic, or working with behaviourists become a possibility with this extra support from the community.
“This was a reminder that we do have organizations that are always in need of support, not only on a special day like yesterday, but every day of the year. We’re receiving animals here, that we need to sometimes go above and beyond for, and if now is not the time, but down the road you’re able to contribute, we always encourage people to consider us,” says Voutilainen.
To donate to the Delta Community Animal Shelter on behalf of yourself or somebody else, visit https://www.delta.ca/donate.
DCAS is not currently taking any new volunteers due to COVID-19.
