The drive takes place in the Bridgewater Mall on Jan. 28, by the inside entrance of Zellars and goes from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Karissa was murdered in January of 2008 by her mother, which sent shockwaves through the community. Friends and family wanted to do something constructive in the wake of the tragedy, and something that would be meaningful for Karissa. The drive is usually done around the time she was murdered, on Jan. 27.
“We don’t want to be sitting back and dwelling on the evil aspect of this,” says Wendy Whalen, one of the organizers of the event.
Whalen says they sometimes they hear people tell them to move on from the tragedy. However she says this is a way to deal with it, and make something good come out of what happened. She adds it has helped the family deal with the grief as well.
“Since we started this, it’s something they can focus their attention. It’s more of an uplifting experience.”
Chastity Grear, another organizer and step-aunt of Karissa, says it has brought them closer together as friends as well.
Grear says animals were Karissa’s passion. She loved to be around them whenever she could. Karissa had dreams of turning that passion into becoming a veterinarian. In her memory, the group of friends started the pet food drive in her memory.
Each year the group picks a different organization on the South Shore that works with animals. In the past, they have donated to S.H.A.I.D in Bridgewater, the Luneburg SPCA and the PET Project in Shelburne.
The project has had a lot of support since its inception four years ago. Typically they have raised over $3,000 worth of funds and donations. Beyond just food and money, people bring in toys, treats and carriers as well, which is all put into use by the organizations.
It’s been a tough year for the Queens SPCA, says chair Martin Hilliard. All over the province shelters were inundated with animals, and Queens was no exception. The Queens chapter doesn’t have a shelter, so it relies on volunteers to take in the animals into their homes on a temporary basis. Normally they can accommodate 20-25 cats at any given time. However in this Spring the number jumped to over 70.
Hilliard said they had to do a lot of fundraising over the summer and fall months to keep up with the costs as well. The Queens SPCA pays for the needles and medication for cats, as well as spaying or neutering the animal. Just getting a female cat spayed can cost upwards of $175.
To help reduce their numbers, the SPCA is letting people adopt any cat over the age of six months for free. The hope is to spur people into adopting, and so far it has helped says Hilliard. Their numbers are down now, but with the warm winter they expect the numbers to go up again soon.
If someone wishes to donate but can’t make it, they can contact the Queens SPCA at info@queens.spcans.ca or at 902-350-2444. The Queens SPCA website is located at http://spcans.ca/branches/queens-branch.html
They can also contact Whalen at 935-2126.
