Community Shows Support For Animals In Need

The band ‘Dogs on Skis’ performed to a crowd of nearly 300 as part of a Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter fundraiser.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – There is often a party going on at Debbie’s Celebration Barn, but this past Saturday night, the community came out to party and had fun while raising money for Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter.

Jennifer Main was one of those person’s who helped to make the evening possible. Vicky Collette and Main helped to sell tables to the guests, as well as selling event sponsorships.

The animal shelter is preparing for a big move from their old facility in the northeast part of Oskaloosa, to their new facility on the west side. Those efforts have left the shelter’s funds depleted. Beyond the money raised, Main hopes the evening’s festivities will help bring in additional volunteers to the shelter.

The shelter is recovering from a scandal that shook the public’s confidence when it’s former director was accused of theft. Saturday night proved that confidence was returning when the efforts helped to raise approximately twenty-five thousand dollars.

“There’s a lot more accountability within the record keeping system now for expenses,” said Main. “There are more people looking at things now.”

Main encouraged people to continue helping the animal shelter, both with volunteer hours and monetary donations. “Something as simple as a $10 a month recurring donation to help with the maintenance cost of running the facility.

“We need about $900,000 yet to pay off the building, so we have a lot of small needs and big needs,” said Main.

You can learn more about Stephen Memorial Animal shelter by visiting their website HERE or Facebook page HERE.