When Hannah Gerow and her family heard about Better Beginnings Kitten Rescue, they decided to volunteer to become a foster family for kittens needing a temporary home, and have now fostered three kittens.
Black Press recently asked Hannah, a Grade 6 student at Parkcrest Elementary in Kamloops, why she chose Better Beginnings Kitten Rescue as the recipient of a fundraiser she started in her school.
“I chose Better Beginnings from Barriere and Kamloops because I am an animal lover and our family has fostered kittens before and it was so rewarding," she said. "They are really good people with big hearts and last year we adopted a kitten from them. His name is Cheeto. We don’t know his whole story but think he was maybe abandoned by his mom.
"I just wanted to help Better Beginnings so I made up a poster for school that asked other classes to donate items that the rescue could use for the cats and kittens.”
Hannah is also a third-year Girl Guide, and is working towards achieving her Lady Baden-Powell award, which will assist her in moving forward into Pathfinders next year. Lady Olave Baden-Powell was the co-founder of Brownies (now called Embers) and was elected World Chief in 1930. Her motto was "to help make the world a better place by doing acts of kindness and leading by example", which is why this special service award is named in her honour.
After creating posters describing what Better Beginnings Kitten Rescue does. and including a list of supplies that would be appreciated by them, Hannah supplied each classroom with garbage bags for the items students might bring to donate. A big box of Freezies was offered as an incentive to the class that contributed the most donations.
Carleen Stamer from Barriere has volunteered with Better Beginnings for three-and-a-half years, and was very impressed by the incredible amount of donations she received following the "Help Hannah support cats" campaign.
“I thought maybe she would have a box or two [of donations] and couldn’t believe how many great things for the cats and kittens she had collected with the help of other students," said Stamer. "She even donated a cheque for $50 from her grandma who had come to visit from Abbotsford during the donation drive. So sweet.
"Hannah is such a great girl. She is just awesome to recognize the need at such a young age. There are so many bigger organizations she could have chosen but she chose us, and that means so much to us.”
This time of year can be very busy for cat and kitten rescues, says Stamer, explaining that they currently have close to 30 kittens in their care, all of which are fostered out to volunteer homes.
“All of the kittens and cats are vet-checked, de-wormed and vaccinated when we rescue them. This month Total Pet in Sahali in Kamloops is sponsoring a fundraiser for us. The store is calling it a pet appreciation event, with special events planned throughout the month as sponsors for Better Beginnings. There is a silent auction, and you can spin a wheel to win a prize and donate it back to our rescue. There’s a box for cat and kitten food donations as well.”
Stamer previously worked with dog rescues until there was a call-out to save some feral kittens in Barriere over three years ago. She moved into kitten and cat rescues after that, seeing the huge need there.
“Since joining Better Beginnings the number of cats and kittens we have rescued is literally in the hundreds, especially feral cats. We’ve worked out of Clearwater, Glenn Grove, Dixon Creek and so many outlying areas to save these cats and kittens. We always need foster homes. We provide everything they need to care for a cat or kitten as volunteers.
"We also have a barn buddy program for cats that can help farmers, who in turn provide them with food and a safe place to sleep, as what you might say are working cats on farms and ranches. The farmers take good care of them. We desperately need foster volunteers like seniors who may just enjoy the companionship but don’t want to incur the cost. We supply everything they need and in return they supply the loving care.”
If you or anyone you know is interested in volunteering as a cat or kitten foster home, or is looking to adopt, Better Beginnings Kitten Rescue will be holding an adoption event on Saturday, June 15 at the Total Pet store in Sahali in Kamloops from noon to 3 p.m.
To contact Better Beginnings Kitten Rescue you can reach them through their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Betterbeginningskittenrescue or via email at bbkrescue@gmail.com.
