How do you raise over $21,000 for homeless pets? This is how!
Early in 2015 I got an email from the Marketing Director for Pawmetto Lifeline, a high-profile, no-kill, animal rescue and adoption center in the Midlands. As the elected 2015 Charity Director for the Columbia QuadSquad, she reached out to me to see if we were interested in taking part in a big fundraising initiative for their organization.
To put it mildly, I’m an animal lover, and I know most of my teammates are too. In fact, we had already taken up donations for the our local Humane Society earlier this year. I feared the league would think I was nuts for focusing our energy on pet related charities all year, but when I proposed this to everyone, it was well received.
The proposal was that we each compete to raise money for Pawmetto Lifeline, and the 12 folks that raised the most would be included in a Pin-ups for Pets style calendar, and all money generated by the sale of the calendar would also go to Pawmetto Lifeline. I, along with two teammates, visited the Pawmetto Lifeline facility and we toured all the different sections of their business from their puppy room to their spay and neuter clinic, even to their enormous laundry room! Because Pawmetto Lifeline is so well-known in the area and because of the great work they do saving animals, it seemed a no-brainer to partner with them in order to cross-market both businesses. I was ecstatic to have the Columbia QuadSquad name associate with such a positive organization!
The competition for the spots in the calendar was fierce! Just when one girl thought she had secured her spot, another girl had a bunch of money donated, and the whole game would change, and this went on for over 2 months! It was fun and exciting competing with each other in such a way with an enormously positive result for a charity! We ended up raising tens of thousands of dollars for Pawmetto Lifeline to help further their mission of saving animals, and the calendar hasn’t even gone on sale yet!
TOP Winners:
Owl Gore (CQS) - $2100
Shiv Tyler (RCR) - $1600
Holly Hunter (CQS) - $1223
Jabs Bunny (RCR) - $1206
Poison Violet (CQS) - $1185
Rox Anne Stones (CQS) - $1150
Mirkat (RCR) - $1105
Betty Ford Cynic (CQS) - $1080
Blocklava (RCR) - $1080
Nicole Hitman (RCR) - $1070
JK Rowling (CQS) - $1050
Ariel (RCR) - $1045
I’ve also seen the results of the photo shoots, and each girl that is included looks gorgeous! Pawmetto Lifeline provided full hair and make-up by local professional cosmetologists, and another local I am excited to see what sort of effect this calendar has on our game attendance and our skater recruitment, and I hope to continue working with other amazing charities in our area in the future.
BellaTrixter
