For the last several Christmases, Burkes Outlet in Bluefield, Virginia, has held a wonderful donation drive for our rescue. They collect dog food, pet beds, toys, and all kinds of creature comforts for the dogs and cats stuck in rescue over the holidays.
The idea they had for this is quite genius. The staff sets up a Christmas tree, but for ornaments they use index cards printed with a photo of each animal in rescue, along with a "wish list" of items that each dog and cat can use. Each person who gives can choose one card (or more!) and see the specific animal their donation goes to help.
As you can see, people in Bluefield can be very generous! Last year they filled eight shopping carts with goodies for our furbabies. With six days to go this year, we're halfway to that goal already. And these carts are loaded, too. Dog food. Cat food. Big bags of it! Pet beds. Toys. All kinds of things. We may need a moving van to get all this stuff back to the rescue.
None of this would happen, though, if it weren't for our rescue's good friend and faithful volunteer, Tina. Tina not only organizes this event every year, but brings us load after load of flattened cardboard from Burkes delivery trucks that we use in the kennels. On top of this, Tina is a rescuer herself. She saves cats. Many of them are fosters from other rescues who ended up living with her permanently. She loves all of them and takes diligent care to maintain their health and environment. The exciting part? Tina is coming to Steemit. Hopefully before payout ends on this post, she will be able to comment on it. I hope the Steemit community shows up in droves to thank her for all the hard work she does!