An animal rescue centre in danger of closing its doors was saved after an outpouring of generosity over the weekend from the community it serves.
More than $100,000 has been raised through an online campaign to support High River-based Heaven Can Wait after the organization’s founder made a plea for help last week.
Heaven Can Wait Animal Rescue Foundation, which rescues animals from abuse or neglect and finding homes for pets in need of loving families, was facing a dire financial situation in recent months. Circumstances were so bad founder Kim Hessel feared she would have to close the doors.
Hessel said the massive support means Heaven Can Wait will remain open.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the bigness of not only the amount, but of the support,” said Hessel. “Such positive words of encouragement and support and hope, and really lovely words to read. All of these small donations that have turned into something huge with no expectation of anything in return. It’s just truly unconditional help, unconditional love.”
Donations came largely from a GoFundMe page set up by Chauntelle MacLeod to raise funds for Heaven Can Wait. Her initial goal for fundraising was set for $30,000 but was blown out of the water within 12 hours. The goal was increased by $10,000 at a time to $100,000 over four days.
The GoFundMe page was shut down Oct. 17 after reaching a total of $97,876. Over the weekend skids and truckloads of food were delivered to the adoption centre, which was busier than it’s ever been with people bringing in donations and asking questions about adoption and how they can help.
Hessell said some donations came from children who brought in birthday money and saved-up allowances to help the shelter.
“The kids have blown me away, they’re just beautiful,” said Hessel. “Adults understand the value of their money and they make a decision about contributing to things. With kids it’s such genuine, lovely intentions.”
Heaven Can Wait was facing difficult financial circumstances.
In an Oct. 12 Facebook post, Hessel listed Heaven Can Wait’s monthly expenses as nearly $10,000. Average vet bills cost the centre about $5,000 per month and it owed High River Veterinary Clinic $18,000 and Nanton Veterinary Clinic $5,000.In addition, Heaven Can Wait incurs about $2,000 in food expenses and spends close to $1,200 on cat litter, in top of utility and insurance costs in the $3,000 range and $1,000 worth of cleaning supplies.
Hessel wrote that funds were low and the animal shelter would be closing its doors by Christmas without help, and received an outpouring of support.
Hessel said the most important thing that happened since the fundraising began one week ago is that people know the true cost behind running Heaven Can Wait.
Between the dollars raised through GoFundMe, donations directly to the centre and the veterinarian clinics and upcoming fundraisers people have organized on behalf of Heaven Can Wait, Hessel said the centre will be able to easily manage its operations for the next nine months.
The financial buffer will allow her to set long-term plans in place.
“This isn’t something we’re going to sit on,” said Hessel. “We’ve got a lot of good momentum right now and I don’t want to lose it. I want to take advantage of it and all these various offers of help that are out there.”
The next steps are to form a board and complete the paperwork for charitable status, which will open doors to funding opportunities not previously available to Heaven Can Wait, she said.
Hessel said the shelter provides an important service in the region and she hopes being able to tap into government grants or working casinos will provide more sustainable funding moving forward.
“It’s pretty big money,” said Hessel. “The costs in my opinion are reasonable costs for what it is we do, it’s just more people aren’t always aware of that. When you’re caring for this many animals, it adds up.”
Heaven Can Wait has received a lot of community support over its 18 years, she said, including $1,500 per month from the Town of High River and personal donations. Some funds also come from their kennel operations at Room to Run, she said.
Hessel said the support over the past week has been overwhelming and has eased her mind and pushed her to reorganize her business.
“This community has just been amazing, I still can’t believe it,” said Hessel. “It is very safe to say Heaven Can Wait is definitely not going to close its doors.”
