Grass Roots Fundraising

As many of you are aware, there has been severe flooding in Iowa causing major devastation to not only humans but to our animals friends as well.A grass-roots fundraising effort was recently started by a young woman named Brooke Suchomel who grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. All funds raised by the Iowa Flood Relief Auction will be directed to a special "Friends of the Animal Shelter" fund via the Kirkwood Foundation (tax ID 23-7076632), which is the fundraising division of the Kirkwood Community College, currently serving as the temporary shelter for displaced animals.

There are several hundred dogs, even more cats, and other companion animals being housed there, and many, many more animals that are still stranded in the tens of thousands of abandoned homes.
The Kirkwood Foundation and Cedar Rapids Animal Shelter are working together on the evacuation center; the animal shelter's building was completely destroyed in the flood, so they are hoping to rebuild on the Kirkwood campus. More information about both organizations is available at http://www.kirkwood.edu/foundation and http://www.cedar-rapids.org/animal/.

So far, 40 companies have pledged contributions to raise funds for the evacuated animals. The participating companies are primarily run by independent artisans of bath and body products, fragrances, hair care, pet products, and jewelry. The auction will take place from June 25 through July 2. The site for the auction is live at http://www.iowafloodreliefauction.com.

Please take a moment to visit the sites and it is my hope that we can work together to bring attention to this important benefit, and bring hope to a community so desperately in need.

Kelly J. Johnson
Sebring