Brilliant fundraising program for American cat rescue organisations

MARCO ISLAND, FLORIDA, USA - NEWS AND COMMENT: A cat rescue organisation whose mission is to end the cruelty of pet overpopulation, For the Love of Cats, has a cool program which I think is a very clever idea and a win-win for all parties concerned. They call it the "Puss in Boots" fundraiser. They collect shoes that women no longer want. Sometimes these are brand-new and unused and they are at least in good condition.

Brilliant fundraising program for any American cat rescue organisation. Photo: For the Love of Cats.

They have managed to accumulate 107 bags of shoes with 25 pairs of shoes per bag for a grand total of 2,675 pairs of shoes. They are picked up by a partner group and the first bag is given free and then subsequently merchants in developing countries such as Haiti and Guatemala purchase additional shoes at a fraction of the normal retail cost. These merchants are able then to sell the shoes on a stall at home. One woman in Haiti has her whole family involved in working on her shoe stall.

Clever commerce

So, the essence of the fundraising program is to collect unwanted shoes which are free to the rescue and then sell them at a very modest price but in large numbers to traders in developing countries where they can make a profit themselves from the sale of the shoes.

The Winners

This helps to rescue and help cats - the first winner. The second winner is the cat rescue organisation and the third are the merchants running stores in developing countries. The fourth winner are the people purchasing the shoes at a modest price and no doubt they get to have shoes that they wouldn't have been able to get hold of normally because they wouldn't be available in shops at home. The fifth winners are the women who are divesting themselves of unwanted shoes. This frees up their wardrobe so they can buy some more! The seventh winners are the local shoe stores :) Ah, there is an eighth; the environment. There will be less landfill. 

It is just a brilliant scheme which has raised $1000 to help the cats of Marco Island and Collier County.

About For the Love of Cats

The vision of For the Love of Cats, as stated on their website, is "a world where all cats' lives matter". They set very high standards, it seems to me, and they put a lot of emphasis on their core values of integrity and commitment. Their work includes TNR programs, assisting people on low incomes and providing emergency veterinary care together with support programs to help people keep their companion animals.

The founders, president and vice-president are Jan Rich and her husband Jim Rich, respectively. They have five staff working for them. I don't know whether they are full-time or not but they are: Ann Daly, Melody Kappauf, Jan Dutmers, Bobbi Conifer and Debbie Lanham. They are based on the west coast of Florida just north of the Everglades.

Source: Marco News and the For the Love of Cats website.