Sue Beagle hasn’t been able to park in her garage since February due to a collection of bottle donations that are stacked to the roof.
Beagle is the president of AlleyCats Alliance and has been collecting the bottles for return in order to help financially support the charity.
“Some people do give us cash donations, but because we can’t hold fundraisers due to the risk of spreading of COVID-19 we have just been collecting bottles, to sort them and take them to the bottle depot,” she explained.
AlleyCats Alliance was formed in 2012 following the need to rescue feral and abandoned cats and kittens in the Okanagan. The charity relies solely on donations and fundraising is a key part of keeping the non-profit afloat. However, as with many charities, the pandemic halted all in-person fundraising activities.
“We go into feral cat colonies and we trap them. Then we spay and neuter as many as we can,” said Beagle. “We also help with all of the food and medical costs associated with caring for the cats.”
Rehabilitating and rehoming felines is costly and for the small Okanagan run charity coming up with the money to keep the non-profit going can be taxing.
“Collecting bottles has become almost a full-time job for me,” explained Beagle.
Now, AlleyCats is reaching out to the public to see if anyone can assist with their bottle collecting and sorting.
“I would like to have a small space, doesn’t need to be very big, but a space we can go to and sort, and have bottles drop off,” she said. “Plus, other people could drop in and sort, that would be such a huge help.”
The charity is also looking for blankets, crates, litter and food donations. AlleyCats has volunteers in Penticton, Summerland and Kelowna.
If you’re able to provide a donation or space for AlleyCats to collect and sort bottles please contact, alleycatsalliance.org or alleycatsalliance@gmail.com.
READ MORE: AlleyCats Okanagan: Pet of the week
@Jen_zee
jen.zielinski@bpdigital.ca
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