The Cherryland Humane Society is always looking for volunteers and support in taking care of their furry friends and finding them a forever home. Which is why one local photographer decided to do something pretty incredible to show her support.
“I’m part of a group of pet photographers that do this contest around the country, and some do it internationally too. And collectively, we’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for animal rescue. So, I was really excited to bring it to our community and especially for an amazing charity like Cherryland Humane Society,” said photographer, Amanda Lewis.
It’s a pet calendar contest where people enter their pets to win a spot in the calendar. It was $5 to enter your pet into the contest, and each vote was $1. It all began adding up very quickly.
“Our initial goal was $5,000. We hit that very quickly. So, we opted to 10 and we hit that fairly quickly as well. And then like the last week, it just went crazy. And especially the last few hours of the contest. People really started donating to get their dogs on the calendar and it was amazing to see,” said Lewis.
Amanda ended up raising over $17,000 for the Cherryland Humane Society. Money that will make a huge difference at the shelter, thanks to all of you who voted.
“We’re so grateful over the last couple of years for Amanda’s support in general. And then when she brought up this contest, we were very excited about it. And then we would get updates on how much money it was raising, and it just blew our minds. We are so full, like our shelter is so full of dogs right now. And I know shelters across the country are experiencing the same thing. We get calls for owner surrenders every day due to housing, finance, financial issues, stuff like that. And we’re also approaching kitten season. We already had a mother cat give birth last year within the foster community and our shelter. We had 81 cats. So, the funds raised from Amanda’s contests will go very far in just meeting their everyday needs,” said Communications and Marketing Manager at Cherryland Humane Society, Naomi Lawson-Pobuda.
The top 13 voted pets will get a photoshoot with Amanda Lewis photography to be featured within the calendar. The pet with the most votes was Rasta Fox, an adorable Pomsky who was rescued by the Cherryland Humane Society and has now found his forever home. Rasta will be featured on the front cover of the calendar.
“We’re really excited about when the calendar will be available for purchase, which will be in November. And we just recommend you keep an eye on Amanda Lewis Lewis’s photography page on social media and we’ll share it as well, the link that you can purchase the calendar online,” said Naomi.
All of the money raised when calendars go on sale will also be donated to the Cherryland Humane Society.
