Conceptual image of new animal shelter

Conceptual image of new animal shelter

ICARE Announces Postponement of 18th Annual Dinner

As many people in the Eastern Sierra know, ICARE (Inyo/Mono County Animal Resources and Education) has been busy with a fund-raising campaign for the new Inyo County Animal Shelter and Pet Adoption Center planned for construction in Big Pine. Because all of its efforts are being directed to this once-in-a-lifetime undertaking, the ICARE Board has decided to postpone this year’s popular ICARE dinner in April.
    ICARE is Inyo and Mono Counties’ largest and oldest non-profit animal welfare organization and its “Raise the Roof—a Cause for Paws” campaign is the culmination of a 17-year effort to replace Inyo County’s old and inadequate animal shelter. So far, $500,000 in public donations have been raised for the $800,000 facility. With Inyo County’s $200,000 commitment to the project, only $100,000 more is needed to fully fund the new facility.
    “A new Animal Shelter has been a dream of our organization since we were founded in 1996,” says ICARE President, Ted Schade. “Now that Inyo County is also fully committed to the project, we need to make it happen in 2014. In order to fully focus on our Raise the Roof campaign, the ICARE Board has made the difficult decision to forego the annual fundraising dinner this Spring.”  It takes an enormous effort by a small group of people to organize a meal for 700 and secure the hundreds of auction items and door prizes necessary for a successful dinner. In addition, with the closing of Whiskey Creek Restaurant, which donated all the labor and the kitchen to prepare the biggest annual meal in Inyo County, ICARE would need to start from scratch on the meal planning. According to Schade, “the ICARE event typically takes us four months to plan and execute. This is time that we need to spend on the last push for the new shelter.”
    The community’s response to the new shelter has been incredibly positive, the generous donations have been overwhelming, and the ICARE Board is incredibly grateful to everyone that has contributed. ICARE hopes the community understands and supports the decision to not have the 2014 dinner. “What we would like to see, is a big celebration when the new shelter is completed later this year. We will keep everyone updated on plans for a Grand Opening and we hope to see each and every ICARE supporter there, as we will have something to celebrate in a really big way!”
    If you’d like to know more about the shelter fundraiser or ICARE’s other animal welfare programs and how you can help, please visit: www.ICAREforPets.org

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