The Prince George Humane Society’s ‘Change 4 Change’ campaign ends tomorrow (Sept. 10).
This comes two weeks after announcing on Aug. 26 the non-profit is facing closure if they can’t come up with at least $30,000 for two more months of operation.
After hearing this news, Scotiabank’s Spruceland branch (675 Central St. W) decided it needed to step up and did so by fundraising $1,000 over a two-day period among employees and customers.
“I’m passionate about animals and I feel like a lot of people are too. So I thought, why not do a bake sale and give back to the community,” said Scotiabank Spruceland Customer Service Supervisor Indy Seehra in an interview with PrinceGeorgeMatters today (Sept. 9), explaining she was scrolling through her social media pages when she saw the Humane Society could be shut down.
Indy Seehra of Prince George gets a hug from her dog (via Facebook/Indy Seehra)She’s owned and loved her boxer terrier dog for eight years, which inspired her to approach her Branch Manager Wendy Fiala with the fundraiser idea.
“It's a place where people are not only working there, but volunteering a lot of time for these animals and I couldn’t imagine that place not being there,” said Seehra. “I came in on a Thursday and I said, ‘Wendy, we’re having a bake sale tomorrow!’ She’s like, ‘That’s not enough time,’ and I was like, ‘We’re making it happen,’ and everyone pulled through. We had it for two days and I’m just so thankful we were able to gather these funds and contribute to the community.”
The branch hosted the two-day bake sale to raise the money in addition to its staff charity fund, where employees are encouraged to wear jeans every Friday and money gets put into that account.
At first, Fiala wasn’t sure if they could get it all done in a matter of 24 hours, but she couldn’t resist the chance to help.
“You hear about these different organizations and you take them for granted that they’re always going to be there,” she said. “[...] You always assume these places are going to be there, and then when we heard about this, Indy came to me and said ‘Hey, we need to do something,’ and I 100 per cent agreed with her.”
The proud owner of two pets, a cat and a dog, believes if the Humane Society were to close, not only would it leave a hole for animal lovers, but for the entire city of Prince George.
“They’re volunteer-run. Normally they’re a society; they don’t always have government funding. So we think of them more as a government institution, but it’s not. So, for us, taking that step back and realizing that they need funds right now more than ever, but it’s also keeping top of mind going forward that there’s always going to be that need. As a branch and a bank, this is something we can look more often to step in and help on a regular basis.”
Last year, Scotiabank held a similar fundraiser among all of its Prince George locations in coming up with funds for the North Cariboo and District SPCA.
A total of more than $4,600 was raised; $2,300 by local employees and $2,300 matched by the bank.
Last week, the Wandering Panda Tattoo Studio compiled $1,550 for the non-profit and Sonar is hosting a comedy fundraiser themselves on Sept. 19.
You can also donate to the Prince George Humane Society directly by visiting their website, or in-person at their facility in the Industrial Cariboo Estates near 1 Ave.
