SPEAKER_00 0:02

Good morning. This is the Blaine's World Podcast, where conversations are worth hearing and seeing. You can watch this each week on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn. You can also listen on Spotify and other podcasts. And for more information about this show and past shows, future shows, you can go to my website, which is behind me, Blaine's World.net. I'm your host, Blaine Greenfield, and I'm coming to you from my Zoom studio in lovely downtown Fairview, North Carolina. Each week we share positive news and uplifting stories about people and organizations in both Western North Carolina and throughout the country. And toward that end, it's my pleasure to introduce Sarah Swartz, who's the development director at the Blue Ridge Humane Society, being my guest today. And Sarah, you can feel free to wave to all your fans and friends who are watching this.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Yeah, hello everyone. Thanks for tuning in.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Okay, and that is Sarah. And she mentioned that Sarah has over 20 years' experience working with both nonprofits and civic organizations to make the community she lives in in a better place a better place. And so you started when you were nine or ten. Was that it?

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Oh, you're you're very kind.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Okay, the youngest person ever in Henderson County. Prior to Blue Ridge Humane Society, she held positions at United Way of Henderson County and the Party Hospital Foundation. An avid fitness enthusiast and certified yoga teacher, Sarah enjoys hiking, working out at local YMY MCA, and taking and teaching yoga classes. So the question I always ask, Sarah, the first time I meet somebody is as a kid you grew up where?

SPEAKER_01 1:33

In uh outside of Boston, Massachusetts, in the town of Acton.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Okay, and when you were growing up as a kid in Boston, Massachusetts, or outside Boston, did you always know you wanted to be this uh nonprofit person?

SPEAKER_01 1:46

I did not. I thought I was gonna be a teacher or a journalist.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Interesting. And it's funny because that's kind of my background. I started as a journalist eventually went to teaching, but kind of what you do, I guess, is large part teaching, you know, what you're doing.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

It is very much so.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

So, what got you out of teaching in journalism into the nonprofit world?

SPEAKER_01 2:08

That's a great question. I spent the good chunk of my 20s and early 30s working in the health and fitness industry. So despite the fact that I had a communications background and came out of college sort of guns blazing to go do journalism, I found that uh I probably had too soft a heart for that particular industry at that time and had done some internships in Washington, D.C. And that sounded very glitzy and glamorous. But then the reality check of myself and how I thought I'd fit in wasn't quite there. So jumped into health and fitness, which was always a passion, and then segued into nonprofit work from there. I'd actually been working for a behavioral health hospital on the for-profit side, and then turned uh and went to work for a local nonprofit entity in Greenville, South Carolina, uh, that focused on helping adults with severe and persistent mental illness uh adapt to a clubhouse model of rehabilitation.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

So it's funny you say that because I had married similar thoughts, but my I'm glad I got out of journalism in the sense that nowadays, especially with AI, I'm glad I'm not in journalism. Um but in what you're doing, which is kind of good, I think there's always going to be a need for you know some development work with nonprofits. So the first one you you jumped into, uh, what did you do with them?

SPEAKER_01 3:27

With Blue Ridge Human Society, I serve as the development director. And what that means is I oversee several elements of our development department, our marketing and communications efforts, our events. So we throw special events where we're doing the fundraiser ourselves, or we're managing third-party events, which happen all year long by individuals and organizations that want to have an event to support us. We have a lot of business partnerships in the community. So I oversee business partnerships can look anything like they have a piggy bank, which we call dog banks, at their counter in their business, and people can put their loose change in there all the way up to our signature sponsors and hero sponsors. This year we have Stooler Power Solutions that has stepped up to be our largest corporate sponsor, and so it can run the gamut of businesses of all sizes that want to support Blue Ridge Humane Society. And then I also work with all of our individual donors on estate uh planning, on their monthly giving, or if it's just contributing to the annual fund, what amount feels good to them, and if they want to direct those funds to any specific uh part of our mission, I want to kind of figure that out with them and make sure that they feel really good about their gift and where it's going.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

I'm sorry, I phrased the question poorly. I meant to say before you got into with Blue Ridge, were you always in development uh end of it?

SPEAKER_01 4:49

Uh yes, in some way, shape, or form. So in my work at United Way, I was the marketing and communications manager. And when I was at the Party Hospital Foundation, I was working uh in all realms, marketing, events, and donor relations. So in my nonprofit uh career, it's always been development and in some way, shape, or form.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

And what folks don't realize, and that's why I'm really glad you're on the show, is that nonprofits, even though quote, they're nonprofits, they need money, you know, they just don't love themselves, you know. Um, and so let's talk specifically about in the Blue Ridge Humane Society. For the folks who are not familiar with it, what is that group all about?

SPEAKER_01 5:28

That's in as far as where do the funds come from for Blue Ranger.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

What does Blue Ridge Humane Society do?

SPEAKER_01 5:35

What do we do? Well, we do a lot, but I think the thing that people will most associate with Blue Ridge Humane Society with that is adoptions. Um so we serve as a limited admissions shelter. It's a little different than our counterparts, in that we are not the public animal shelter. We are not the county shelter. We work in partnership with Henderson County Animal Services Center. What that means is you can't just drop your animal off at Blue Ridge Humane Society. We will go over to Henderson County Animal Services Center, which is full admission, open admission. So they take all stray animals, lost animals, and owner surrenders at Henderson County. So we'll go over to Henderson County two or three times a week and we will pull animals over into our care and we will move them through our system. Um and we see about a thousand animals a year move through our system. So we're still a high volume, but it's an important partnership that I don't think everyone fully understands how we work in tandem with Henderson County. So we're gonna be looking for homes, for loving homes for those uh dogs and cats, sometimes small reptiles that come into our care. Because we are limited admission, we are gonna see shorter lengths of stay, anywhere from five to 10 days on average for cats and dogs. So they're not there for a long period of time. We're gonna prepare their kennel just like we would for someone coming to stay at a hotel for a short period of time. They're gonna get behavior and training support while they're with us so that we can assess that animal and where they're at in their in their lifespan and what types of behaviors would be important for a future family to know. Um, we can see if a female dog does well with other female dogs or if they need to be paired up with male dogs if we're looking to place an animal into a home that already has household pets. Um, so we're all about taking care of their medical needs, making sure their basic needs are taken care of, and that they're just given all kinds of love until they are adopted out. So that's kind of the number one thing we do. But I think a lot of people really need to know how much we how much support we provide to pet owners post-adoption. And I'm talking about pet owners all across the community, whether they have adopted from Blue Ridge Humanity Society or not. Uh so a really big part of our mission is to keep that bond intact between pets and the people who love them. That can look like coming to our open market every Tuesday and getting the supplies and food that you need to take care of your pet. It can look like applying for vouchers to cover emergency vet bills. It can look like calling our pet helpline and getting tips on everything from what kind of cat litter should I be switching to because my cat doesn't like the litter that I'm using, uh, to I need resources for euthanization, um, for veterinarians to come to my home, to I'm getting kicked out of my apartment and I need to find pet friendly housing. We can help with every stage of life of a pet, pretty much any issue that a pet owner faces, our team can step in and support that pet owner. And the last tenant of what we do is education. So it's adoption, outreach, and education.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

How do you choose then which pets wind up at your facility? You mentioned that you only it's a limited facility. In terms of you mentioned for the year, what's the determination of who gets to be at your place?

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Yeah, that's a great question. It depends on the current population. So if we had, for example, a lot of black young puppies, we would be looking for demographics to kind of complement that. We are looking for animals that might need extra medical care. Um, so we will happily pull an animal into our care who we know is going to need some extensive medical treatment because we know we have the resources, thanks to our donors, to be able to get the care that that animal needs, whether it's an amputation, whether it is surgery or extraction, we're happy to step in and take care of those more gritty medical cases. We also pull animals that might do better in a foster home because we have a vast network of foster volunteers. So if we have an animal and my own cat was one of them, she just did not do very well in a kennel setting at Henderson County. We pulled her over at Blue Ridge Maine Society, got her quickly into a foster home, and she blossomed in just a few days. And that foster volunteer was an advocate for Grace and posted about her, and that's how I found out about her. So our foster network is very important to the adoption process and something not everyone can offer to move an animal uh quickly through uh the system.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

And it's funny you say that because I recall one of our cats and we fostered one of the cats, and then which is I guess good for the system, we were failed for we were failed to foster parents and we hung up with a cat. But that's I guess happens fairly frequently.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

You know, and I prefer the term foster win.

SPEAKER_00 10:36

Uh so yes, of course, occasionally I like the term.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

We call them foster wins. Oh, I like that. Everyone likes to call them foster failures. And I'm like, that's not a failure. It uh it happens. Um, but I also remind people that even if the animal is with you for one night, even our field trip volunteers, if they take an animal out of the shelter for two or three hours, the quality of life improvement, the opportunity for that animal to get out into more of a real-world setting, interacting with other household members, household pets, pets, and people in the community, it really just helps us build a better profile for that animal so that we can really um do a great job at long-term success, placing that animal into a home that we know uh is going to be a thriving environment for them.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

By the way, I have to remember that. That is a great term, force to win, you know, because everybody calls it force to failure, with force to win. Now, in terms of fostering, uh, so you're always looking for people to foster pets as well?

SPEAKER_01 11:38

Absolutely, always.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Who is a good candidate to foster or who should think about fostering pets?

SPEAKER_01 11:45

Yeah. Well, first and foremost, uh anyone with a soft spot uh for animals, dogs, or cats. Um, ideally, you might have a separate space in your home so that when that animal is coming into your home from the shelter, they have a place to decompress. It's very important that our animals do not interact with your household pets for a day or two just to give them time. Um, because you know that shifting is a lot of stress on the animals. So we want them to have a safe space to decompress. We're gonna give all our foster volunteers everything they need. So you don't need to worry about having financial resources to do this because we are gonna give you litter boxes, litter, cat food, cat treats, cat toys if it's one of our cats, if it's a dog, all the collars, leashes, um, enrichment, food, everything that you're gonna need to take care of that dog. So, really, you need a big heart, you need a spare room, um, and just time and attention to give to that animal to help us give them some relief from the kennel and know that your couch or your spare room is a much better environment for just about any dog or cat than being in their kennel.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

What about a way for people who have never had a dog or cat to see if it's a good fit them, or especially with kids? Is that a good way to introduce pets to kids?

SPEAKER_01 13:03

We have a wonderful foster volunteer. I think by now she has housed over 50 of our animals. And that is one of the things she speaks to is that it's teaching her children about responsible pet ownership and uh loving animals and animal communication and behaviors and really building up their self-esteem and giving them some empowerment for taking care of the animals. Now I think that's a wonderful angle. Um, we we see folks that maybe can't commit to having a pet full-time, either their work schedule, travel schedule, life can happen. Um, and this is a perfect way to still open your heart and your home, uh, and an animal's gonna really benefit from the time that they have with you. Um, sometimes we have folks that have recently lost a pet and they're not quite ready to commit to having a pet full-time, but having one in the home kind of makes them feel really good and connected uh to animal welfare.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

It must be tough though for some of you being a forced parent, and you said you were, and we were also, to then give up the pet, you know. Um uh and again, the whole idea of reforcering, you're not locked into a permanent adoption. So it's your choice. Is there a time framework you have to spend with a pet?

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Not at all, because it's really dependent upon when that animal has adoption interest. So if you've taken, and we have a couple of different classifications of fosters. So I'll take a minute to talk about neonate kitten fosters because this is the season. We have just entered kitten season, so this is about a six-month time period where we're gonna see a lot of kittens coming into uh the county shelter, and therefore a lot of kittens coming into our care. And these neonate kittens need bottle feeding and they need hourly attentive care. So that's a very unique group of foster volunteers that are helping us out right now. And so these animals obviously are not quite ready for adoption because neonate kittens need to be a certain weight in order to be available for adoption. So they're taking care of all their medical needs and they're helping them get ready for adoption. The next classification of foster volunteers, they're bringing home one of our animals that is as available. Um, and so they could be in your home for one night and then we get an interest form the next day on that particular animal. And so our adoptions team, our support staff will connect the future potential adopter and the foster volunteer and see if that's a good fit, arrange a time for someone to come and see the animal, or the foster volunteer will bring the animal to the adoption center and let the potential adopter meet that animal at our at our center.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

So talk about how that then works out. So if you're interested in having a cat or adopting a cat or dog, um they come to your place if the pet is there, but then some forced folks have it, and then they don't if if you're a forced parent, do you get first dibs at keeping the pet or not necessarily?

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Yeah, well, we are first come, first serve. So if you're home with that animal and you know you want to adopt, you just let us know. And we can process everything uh online and and digitally these days, with um, you know, sending you the inform the link to your phone, and and you can do everything from home. Um and so it does happen. And and sometimes families just don't know if they're quite ready to adopt, and they'll they'll foster an animal and it is a great fit. And that that, like I said, that's a win-win. Um, and so we'll process the adoption. Um, but if someone has interest in that animal, then we want to honor um the place that that person is in, that potential adopter is in, and arrange the meet and greet for them.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

Okay, so it's it's like you I love how you say it too. It is a win-win situation that both sides win if the adoption takes place. How often does it happen that a foster becomes a permanent residence?

SPEAKER_01 16:59

Oh gosh, that's probably a weekly or bi-weekly occurrence. I mean, we we definitely see a couple a month.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

Uh, we're saying out of a hundred pets, how many wind up staying with their fosters or uh get adopted?

SPEAKER_01 17:15

So we as far as our um release rate, I mean, we have 99% of our animals that will eventually get adopted out. The percentage of which ones are adopted by foster volunteers versus like general public, um, you know, I think we do adopt out probably four or five to our own foster volunteers every month. And on average, we have 90 to 100 adoptions a month. So again, I was a communications major. So whatever math ratio that comes out to, the vast majority are adopted out uh to the general public. But there's a few that stay.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

Talk about the general public. So then if they want our interest in adoption, they could they best to check you out on website or come to your facility. What's best?

SPEAKER_01 17:58

Yeah, definitely go to the website. And something you mentioned earlier is why this is so important, because the only way you're gonna know before driving to Edneyville to our adoption center, who is in a foster home and who is actually at the adoption center, or who might actually be out at their spay neuter appointment, is by checking our website. So the website has up-to-date uh database that syncs up. So every animal that's in our care, you'll be able to see exactly what kennel they are in if they are at the adoption center, or it will say um foster home if they're in a foster home. It will say field trip if they're out on a field trip, it will say medical if they that happens to be the day they're getting their spay or neuter procedure done. So we don't want anyone to drive all the way out there and then find out the animal is not there. We are first come, first served. So if you're on the website and you see an animal that interests you, go ahead and fill out that interest form and then drive on out to the adoption center if that's where they're at, or give us a call if they're in a foster home and we'll connect you to the foster. And and we are we are um very much an adopter's welcome environment. We are not an agency that's gonna ask you to submit drawings of the fence you have in your backyard and all your veterinarian information. And you know, I can remember adopting a dog 20 years ago, and and that was the case. Um, so we're really just gonna do counseling and and kind of find out more about your household and your lifestyle. And we're getting to know that animal as best we can, and we're just gonna try and make it a good fit.

SPEAKER_00 19:25

And since you mentioned it, Sarah, the website, what is the website?

SPEAKER_01 19:29

Blueridgehumane.org.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

Okay, and they'll find everything they need to everything on the website.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

Yeah, if you're interested in adopting, it's a very easy tab adopt, and you can drop down and see dogs and cats.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

And I could be wrong, but I assume if they go to that website, there'll be an option if they want to make a donation. That would be a absolutely if they want to.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

We just want folks to find it. It's an orange dog bone in the top right corner, says donate. Very easy to find, and that's a safe and secure way to make an online donation.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

Okay, so back to some of the stuff you do, Sarah. You tell me off the air. I know you have a I love the title of it. You have a big fundraising event coming up. And the fur, what was the furball?

SPEAKER_01 20:09

The furball, yeah, you have a good memory. So we're gearing up for our next signature event, which will be the furball gala. Uh, that will be on Thursday, September 24th from 5 30 to 8 30 p.m. And this year we're going to have it in Mills River. Um, as I think you have heard, we have purchased property uh and a new building out in Mills River that is adjacent to some land that we purchased a few years ago. And so that 33,000 square foot warehouse will eventually house the adoption center and community support and administrative staff. So, right now, while one of those warehouses is empty, we're going to use it to hold our gala and get all of our supporters really excited about the vision that we're planning to create for that space in Mills River, which will be the first time all of our programs and services are under one roof.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

So, right now you're located where?

SPEAKER_01 21:03

Right now, we're kind of all over. So the adoption center is out in the Edneyville area. Our address is Senate Pede Lane, and that is right off Highway 64, is if you were driving to Chimney Rock or Lake Lore. Um, so about 20 minutes from downtown Hendersonville. And then the administrative offices are in the downtown Hendersonville area, just down the street from our thrift store, uh, which is at 1214 Greenville Highway between Hendersonville and Flat Rock. So administrative will move to Mills River. That is where our community support team is working now. So all of our community support programs like the pet helpline and the pet food giveaways, low cost vaccine clinics. Uh, we have a heartworm clinic, microchip clinics, all of that's happening out of Mills River now. Um, so the first phase is to have community support and our administrative team there. And then the last phase will be to bring the adoption center. Uh staff. staff and animals over, but that requires a significant build-out. Um, and we're at the very preliminary stages of that.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

I was going to say, but that's pretty exciting that it's going to be happening in the future.

SPEAKER_01 22:11

So exciting. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

So when will the, you mentioned it's going to take a while. So when will the offices go over there and then we'll when will the whole thing be done? When do you see it?

SPEAKER_01 22:22

So our administrative offices are actually moving over now. So between now and the end of June, we will be fully out of where we are currently for our administrative space and fully into the suite of offices within that new building in Mills River. It will take two to three years, I think, for the adoption center to eventually be brought over because of the significant build-out that that will require to make it safe and state of the art place for the dogs and cats.

SPEAKER_00 22:50

And you mentioned something else that folks might be interested in you mentioned the thrift center and what's that all about?

SPEAKER_01 22:56

Oh the thrift store so our thrift store is is I'm very biased but one of the best in Hendersonville. And it truly is an economic engine for the organization. So that thrift store brings in about a third of our operating budget every year. So it's important that people know how to donate their gently used items to our store that they know when they can go shop and get some great deals because that is the largest source of revenue for the organization by far is the thrift store. So it is significant. They do a phenomenal job our volunteers and staff and that is a piece of the organization where we couldn't do what we do without our volunteers. So at any given time you'll find about three volunteers to every one staff member that is at the thrift store and helping whether it's donation intake or pricing or steaming clothes or helping us set up things on the floor or working our cash registers. It is a largely volunteer led effort with just a few staff that work full time.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

And where is that located?

SPEAKER_01 24:05

It is at 1214 Greenville Highway. So for folks in Hendersonville that's going to be between Publix and um the rotary to get into Flat Rock. So it's on that main stretch of road 225 between downtown Hendersonville and the village of Flat Rock. Yeah I think I've seen it it's like it's by itself it's not it is it's a separate building it actually used to be our administrative offices but it's a standalone Blue Ridge Humane Society thrift store.

SPEAKER_00 24:34

And what's cool about it doesn't look like a typical thrift store if I'm thinking of the same thing when you when you it actually looks like a house office uh there with of course not enough parking but you know there's there's only so much I can do about that. Okay. No I I know it. Uh the only bad thing about thrift stores I shouldn't tell my wife about it. She winds up donating stuff by it to them then she winds up buying them back later. You know so I mean it does happen. She'll see stuff and then she'll want it back again. And uh that's funny. So you mentioned something else too and and as we're winding down here you mentioned volunteers and so let's talk about the role that volunteers play within the organization.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

Absolutely volunteers are essential to what we do. So if you're volunteering at the thrift store I just mentioned a whole bunch of ways you can help it can be interacting with the public helping with the cash register ringing things up helping people out on the sales floor but for folks that maybe don't want to be out front we need tons of people in the back to help with processing the donations that are dropped off getting them to the right section everything getting cleaned our clothes getting steamed and just sorting through all the things that come in is a pretty monumental effort. And so we are always in need of volunteers at the thrift store. As far as the adoption center we're always looking for folks who want to come and help us walk the dogs folks who want to help cuddle with the cats. We also have folks that really enjoy doing dishes and laundry and we have a place for you at the adoption center because we go through a lot of linens and a lot of dishes at the adoption center and we need help cleaning all of that. We have volunteer opportunities for folks who want to take our animals out for a few hours on field trips. We talked at great length about the foster volunteers that's a big part of our adoption process. We have a number of volunteers who help out in office roles they might help answer the phones at the adoption center and greet potential adopters. I have a couple of volunteers that help with development we have these dog banks I mentioned earlier all around town at different businesses. And I have a volunteer who loves to come in and run all those coins through our coin counter and get them all wrapped up to go to the bank. We have um volunteers who will help at our special events they'll help us table they'll help plan our signature events and work the signature events. So if if you have an interest we can pretty much find a volunteer opportunity for you. And in terms of volunteers any age range you seek them or any youngest to old yeah I'm talking about oldest but youngest volunteers the youngest would be seven and those are going to be children that are coming with their parents to volunteer we see that a lot in the summer and then on the weekends um particularly at the adoption center. But typically our volunteers are going to be 18 and up and all you have to do is attend a volunteer information session one time to get oriented and then you can log into our volunteer software and pick the opportunity that works for you whether it's a recurring opportunity every week or you just want to volunteer every now and then when you have time all volunteers are welcome.

SPEAKER_00 27:47

And one of the great things about volunteering and you kind of indicated it is that you can actually choose what your interests are.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

Absolutely we will have volunteers help monitor some of our social media channels our lost and found channels so yeah we we can take you if you like to write or enjoy getting on social media.

SPEAKER_00 28:12

And lastly I think if I heard correctly you're kind of a good example of this at one time you had been a volunteer I was yeah that's how I got started. And I want to mention that that's a great way to check out a career or something you're interested in just volunteer and you can determine whether this is for you or not. You know so that's pretty cool that you it is very cool.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

And uh you know I always like to tell people my history with Blue Ridge Humane Society started as a shopper because I would come to retreats at the Canoca Conference Center from the Greenville, South Carolina area and we would always make a special trip into town to go to the Blue Ridge Humane Society thrift store. So I was a shopper first and a board director and volunteer second and then segued to staff and I do feel like and and and somewhere in there I was an adopter. So I I think it's really important as a staff member to have these unique vantage points along the way um particularly if you're working in development and you want to be able to help people understand all that we do for the community and all the different ways that people can plug in support doesn't always have to look financial. Of course that's that's the the fundamental what makes us go but our volunteers and people who want to you know buy extra bags of dog food and drop them off to us it all matters it every little bit makes a big difference. And that's a great final point you made I'll use this final point because we've done that too then we've had cat pets have passed and we had extra food and there's a place for it you know you'll you'll take pet food you'll take pet supplies we will anything that is not opened and has not expired um we will happily take and um I recently did a presentation for our staff and one of the things was what what do people maybe not know about your job? And the the instance I used was what you just described. The number of phone calls I get on a weekly basis from people that have just lost a pet and want to know what they can do with those supplies. And it's always a very meaningful conversation because this is someone in a very tender place who really understands that bond uh that exists between pets and the people who love them on a very deep level. And it's very touching that they want to give those resources to an organization like ours.

SPEAKER_00 30:29

And Sarah one last time if you repeat the website which is I guess the first place people should go to check out the website it's what blueridgehumane.org.

SPEAKER_01 30:40

Okay and um find everything you need to know and everything you need about adopting volunteering donating our events it's all on there. And the fur ball they can find that and the fur ball yeah get involved events there it is.

SPEAKER_00 30:54

Yeah it should just ask you so what happens at the fur ball so they come to the event they see the facility what else happens?

SPEAKER_01 31:00

Yeah so you're gonna have amazing food you're gonna be able to participate in a raffle um you're gonna hear a lot about our mission so we like to incorporate a program that connects everyone that's attending the fur ball to our everyday work. This particular fur ball is a little unique because we are going to be basically in an empty warehouse that's going to eventually house the adoption center. So this year's furball will take on a little bit of an extra narrative to tell people about our dreams, our vision, give them an update where we stand with getting drawings and floor plans and moving forward with a capital campaign of course to secure funding but really it's about celebrating new beginnings this year.

SPEAKER_00 31:42

Okay well certainly sounds like you have a lot of stuff happening you know so wherever you're doing just keep it up I thank you for all you do for the community and also like thank my producer Captain Cassetti and uh Sarah Swartz. Hopefully one day we'll bump into each other. That'd be great. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 31:57

I would love that thank you for having me