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Hay River Animal Shelter raises more than $4,000 through Betty White Challenge

The Hay River Animal Shelter collected more than $4,000 through its recent involvement in the Betty White Challenge.
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Kori Bourne, owner/manager of the Hay River Animal Shelter holds Alvin the kitten with loads of donations received during the recent Betty White Challenge. Bourne said she was very pleased with the amount of money and goods from the community that exceeded $4,000 between Jan. 8 and 17. Simon Whitehouse/NNSL photo

The Hay River Animal Shelter collected more than $4,000 through its recent involvement in the Betty White Challenge.

A popular veteran Hollywood actress, White died on Dec. 31 at the age of 99. Among her activism was animal welfare causes.

A social media movement swiftly took shape not long after her passing, encouraging people to donate $5 to an animal welfare society of their choice. People were encouraged to donate money to support animals and then challenge others to do the same.

Kori Bourne, owner/manager of the Hay River Animal Shelter, said that a few people in the community reached out to her to start a local Betty White fundraiser. She followed through with a period for people to donate — from Jan. 8 up to White’s birthday on Jan. 17.

“I finally decided to go through with it because obviously if I have people asking me about it, and then they’re in support of it, I thought it would be a good thing to go ahead with,” said Bourne. “On the Monday, on Betty White’s birthday of Jan. 17, that’s when it just kind of blew up. We ended up with a lot of donations through our PayPal account, which is where people can donate by clicking on a link and then you can pay with a credit card or a Visa debit card.”

People also used e-transfers through the shelter’s email account.

The tally by the end of the campaign was $4,004.16, however support also included an option where people could purchase supplies, Bourne added. The figure was large, she said, because people ended up donating far more than the $5 minimum.

“I was actually really shocked with how many people were donating $20, $25, $50,” she said. “I think we had maybe about 10, if not a bit more, that actually donated $100 at a time.

“It’s a lot of money to come into our small shelters and all of that money is going towards spaying and neutering our animals.”

The donated money is transferred to the Hay River Animal Welfare Society to cover the costs of spaying and neutering when the vet comes to town, Bourne noted. When people adopt an animal from the shelter, they then don’t have to worry about the cost of that expensive operation.

She estimated that the funds raised could cover the spay and neutering needs for 16 to 20 animals over about four months. Usually the shelter arranges for two to four animals a month to be spayed or neutered, she added.

As of Jan. 19, the shelter had six dogs and six cats, which is roughly the facility’s capacity, and only four of those animals were available for adoption as of Jan. 24.