Among groups that rely on volunteers, January and February are often tough.
As Jim Doppler of the Rotary Club of Long Grove, Kildeer and Hawthorn Woods pointed out, many people did their volunteering and donating during the holidays, and spend the rest of the winter hibernating.
Even his group had a gap in their activities at this time.
“‘Why now?’ is because Rotary Club of Long Grove does a lot the rest of the year, but we don’t do much at the start of the year,” Doppler said.
The solution to that is the club’s first attempt at collecting pet food donations.
“This is the first non-human thing we’ve done,” said Doppler. “I thought we’d give it a try.”
From now until Feb. 15, the Rotarians will take donated cat and dog food, and other supplies for both, to a pair of shelters for homeless animals.
The beneficiaries are Barb’s Precious Rescue & Adoption Center —a cat shelter in Palatine — and Foster 2 Home for dogs in Arlington Heights.
Cathy Maloney, the CEO of Foster 2 Home, said much of their food comes from donation efforts like the Rotary’s. They acquire most of their dogs from high-kill shelters in the South, but have no facility of their own. The intent, Maloney said, is to not take possession of a dog until the foster home he or she will move into is ready.
“We will never, ever have a building,” Maloney said. “The kennels are the one thing we want to erase from their memories.”
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Those who would like to participate can drop food and other goodies off at the Village Halls of Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer and Long Grove, or the Jewel-Osco grocery stores at 45 Plum Grove Road in Palatine or 485 Ela Road in Lake Zurich.
The Rotary chapter has put together coat drives, helped arrange dinners for the homeless and packed “people food” at pantries, Doppler said, and branching into the animal world felt like a worthy addition to the calendar.
Both Barb’s and Foster 2 Home participated in one of the Long Grove group’s fundraising races in 2015, so he said the group selected them as beneficiaries of this effort.
Twitter: @RonnieAtPioneer