The 30th annual “A Night to Paws” dinner and auction at The Q Center in St. Charles this weekend raised funds for Anderson Animal Shelter, 1000 South LaFox Road (Route 31) in South Elgin.
“We had a record attendance of 315 people,” said Beth Drake, the shelter’s executive director. “Our goal this year was to raise over $100,000. We had over 300 items for the silent and live auctions. The funds we raise allow us to continue running the shelter.”
“We love to do what we do,” said Jonathan Gripe, the shelter’s board president and financial advisor at Edward Jones, St. Charles. “We want to get animals to their ‘forever’ homes. In 2013, we cared for 673 animals. In 2015, we cared for over 2,000 animals.”
“Our new mission statement is: Improving the lives of pets and people through service, education and advocacy,” Drake said. “It is our ultimate goal to save the lives of as many homeless pets as we can. Because we receive no government funding and the cost of caring for these animals exceeds the revenues we receive through adoption fees, we must continue to ask for the support of generous animal lovers.”
Through its partnership with the Petco Foundation, over 300 animals were adopted through in-store Petco adoption events this year. In addition, Petco provided a grant for a new Ford Transit transport vehicle so the shelter can rescue animals from overcrowded and underfunded shelters in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Gala attendees this week bid for the chance to have their pet’s picture adorned on the van.
The presenting sponsor was the Petco Foundation. The gala’s emcee was Ron Onesti of Onesti Entertainment. David Haas served as the auctioneer.
Awards and their recipients included: Community Champion Award to Elgin Community College’s Workforce Transitions program and South Town Animal Hospital, South Elgin; Community Partner Award to Blue Buffalo and Signs by Tomorrow, South Elgin; Corporate Partner Award to Automatic Data Processing; Friends of the Animals Award to shelter volunteers Randy Sandman and Jay Belich, and the Founder’s Award to Nancy Miles, a shelter volunteer who has helped at outreach events and fostered over 100 kittens.
For the first time, the shelter’s annual gala held a “Dancing with the Stars” contest. Gripe; Pam Bierman, co-owner of Doc Morgan, St. Charles; Holly Deitchman, president and CEO of the Batavia Chamber of Commerce; Valeria DuCharme, executive vice president of St. Charles Capitol Bank; Michael Oleson, owner of Stockholm’s Brewery and Restaurant, Geneva, and Geneva Investment Group; and Rajeev Vaidyanathan, entomologist and director of environmental science with Clarke, St. Charles, were all teamed with dancers from Vargo’s Dance Studio to perform dances such as the cha-cha, fox trot, tango and rumba.
Everyone at the gala has their own unique story of how the shelter has changed their lives.
Karen Bychowski said that when she moved to St. Charles, she volunteered to work at the shelter.
“I had been raised with cats, but I asked to work with dogs,” she said. “I had been bitten in the face by a dog when I was a kid. I wanted to once again become comfortable around dogs. After three months of volunteering, I met a 5-month old pit bull named Jason. He had been found with two litter mates on a bike trail. I spent a year trying to get him adopted. I would have adopted him myself, but I live in an apartment and travel for work. I kept taking him to adoption events and brought along his list of special needs. A couple who met those needs spotted Jason at a Petco adoption event in Algonquin and adopted him that same day. He moved in with their three dogs and two cats. They gave me a key to their house and said I’m part of their family. I have been visiting Jason for the past eight years. They call me Jason’s mom.”
Denise Moran is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.