The Santa Monica Animal Shelter will hold its third annual open house fundraiser on Saturday, June 1, to raise money to help cover the cost of veterinary care, medical attention and of course food for all of those hungry little mouths.
“The past couple of years have been such a tremendous success that we’ve been able to make it an annual event,” says Elizabeth Noble, Chair, Santa Monica Animal Shelter Foundation. “The fundraiser is a really fun afternoon for the whole family, plus we get to raise much needed funds for the Shelter.”
During the event you’ll be able to tour the facility and meet the animals waiting to be adopted. And if that doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, then frankly you’re dead inside. For a teeny-tiny donation you could win some fantastic prizes in the raffle, including gift certificates and gift baskets from many local Santa Monica businesses. Alternatively, you could bid on some pretty special experiences in the silent auction; the top prizes include a ride on a Santa Monica Harbor Patrol rescue boat or an amazing educational experience with the Santa Monica Police Forensics Department.
Noble says that this year adoption fees will be reduced in an effort to help as many pets as possible find wonderful homes. “The shelter has so many dogs and cats waiting to go to their forever homes, many have been waiting months, some over a year to be adopted, far too long to be waiting in the stressful shelter environment,” she says.
“We also hope to raise as much funds as we can. We have our larger shelter improvement project that we are fundraising for, to renovate the cat iso-room which is a very costly undertaking, and we also need funds ready so we can step in and cover the cost of veterinary care, special food, supplies and so much more.”
Last year there was an amazing live performance from School of Rock West LA house band, but at the time of going to press, they had not confirmed — yet. So fingers crossed they’ll put on another stonking show. Moreover, the Daily Press will be offering prizes, including a day’s paddleboard rental for four in Marina de Rey (four legged friends are welcome) plus a selection of wine, each bottle generously donated from the newspaper’s staff’s personal collections.
“Much of what makes the event so much fun are the fantastic event participants,” Noble says. Once again The Magical Atelier will be offering face painting, Wild About Balloons LA will be making balloon animals, Allan’s Pet Center West LA will have their cool critters for everyone to interact with, Cadoro Bakery are donating sweet treats. Plus, everyone will have the opportunity to meet the Santa Monica Police Department’s Mounted Unit horses.
“We are extremely grateful to these event participants for joining us again. They are all donating their time to help us raise funds for the animals at the shelter and we are so grateful for their support,” says Noble.
All the info on the day and a list of the items in the raffle are on the shelter’s website www.smasf.org/events they’ll be adding to the list of raffle items, but there are already some fantastic ones listed.
The third annual Santa Monica Animal Shelter Open House Fundraiser is on Saturday, June 1, between 12-3pm at the Santa Monica Animal Shelter, located at 1640 9th St. Santa Monica, 90404.