BONNYVILLE – “The amount of support we received was incredible,” said the Bonnyville and District SPCA in a statement to Lakeland This Week. The comment was in reference to a social media challenge sweeping the internet.
The impact of the challenge is being felt locally.
The Bonnyville SPCA recently received roughly $2,000 in honour of the late Betty White.
The animal welfare advocate and actress was best known for her role in Golden Girls playing Rose Nylund and most recently for playing Elka Ostrosky in the show Hot in Cleavland.
The SPCA explained, “While most of the donations were monetary, we did receive some food as well.”
Although not all the donations received by the animal shelter were attributed to the online challenge, the SPCA has seen an uptick in contributions from the public.
“The amount of people donating was beyond what we are expecting. We can’t thank the Lakeland area and beyond enough,” stated the organization.
The ‘Betty White Challenge’ asked people to donate $5 to their local animal shelter on Jan. 17, what would have been White’s 100th birthday.
Although it is unclear who first posed the challenge, the idea was shared online and went viral, resulting in real-world increases to donations for animal shelters across the province and North America – something the actress and animal lover would have truly appreciated.
Currently, the Bonnyville SPCA is full of feline companions, with one in foster care. The shelter also has a couple of dogs in-house waiting to find their forever families.
In general, the organization has had a lot of adoptions and is happy with the trend they have been seeing.
The organization recently put a plea for cat food due to the high volume in care and received a huge amount of community support that was accompanied by a large amount of donations.
“We are so happy to report our cat food shelves are full,” stated the SPCA, adding, “We are always in need of volunteers. There are also many ways to volunteer whether it be playing with cats, taking dogs for a walk or even helping with fundraising events – there are many ways the public can help out.”
At this time, the animal shelter’s biggest need is non-clumping cat litter and treats for dogs and cats.
“We also are always in need of money donations for our Jenny Fund, which is a fund specifically for injured cats and dogs,” added the statement.
The Bonnyville and District SPCA is only open to visitors and volunteers by appointment. All appointments are scheduled for the afternoon and visitors must call 780-826-3230 to make an appointment.
When dropping off donations, people are welcome at any time, and no appointment is needed.
The organization also works very closely with the Bonnyville Pet Valu and has a donation bin set up where people can donate supplies. As well, the store often houses one of the SPCA’s adoptable cats.
Lakeland This Week would like to leave readers with a memorable quote from the late Betty White.
At 94 years old, White told news anchor Al Roker that her youthful demeanor comes from "my work with animals. I think everybody should have or cultivate a passion. Don't be afraid to really get hooked on something because that will refurbish your energy. It will refurbish your interest.”
White died on Dec. 31, 2021.
