The Betty White Challenge turned out to be a celebration of love and support for the Wake County Animal Center. On January 17, what would have been the beloved Golden Girl’s100th birthday, animal lovers from all over the country donated over $16,000 in one day!
Altogether, more than 600 people donated a total of $22,052 since the nationwide fundraiser for local shelters was announced in memory of the late actress and animal advocate.
“We want to thank everyone so much for all the donations,” said Dr. Jennifer Federico, Animal Services Director. “This is an amazing outpouring of support for our shelter. Our community has always been generous, but this exceeded all our expectations.”
All donations will be used to directly impact the animals in the care of the Wake County Animal Center. This includes animal enrichment programs and services, advanced medical care, general animal care or sponsorships for adoption.
The Betty White Challenge reached over 30,000 people on Wake County social media channels and generated over 1,000 visits to the Animal Center’s donation webpage. Many of those who gave were people who had already made animals from the Wake County Animal Center a part of their forever families.
“Happy to have donated in memory of Betty and in honor of our Izzy who we adopted from you in 2009. She will be celebrating her 13th birthday this spring,” commented Amanda Fulcher McGraw on Facebook.
If you missed this challenge and still want to help the furry friends at the Wake County Animal Center, there are so many ways to do it - from making a monetary donation, sponsoring a pet adoption fee, donating a needed care item or dropping off pet food. The Center also welcomes volunteers and foster parents who provide invaluable help in supporting the wellbeing of animals.
As the only open admission shelter in Wake County that takes in all stray, abandoned and surrendered pets, the Wake County Animal Center is able to treat and re-home thousands of homeless animals every year.
Last year, Wake County Animal Center took in more than 8,000 animals, adopted out nearly 3,500 and found foster families for another 1,700 pets. More than 1,000 pets were reunited with their owners and over 2000 animals were placed with our partner organizations, which is a network of 501(c)(3) animal rescues both within North Carolina and outside of North Carolina.
