2020: A Year in Review

A lot can happen in a year, and what a year it has been. We recognize that 2020 was a rollercoaster ride for most of us, with a large amount of it being a single steep drop to an almost-crash landing due to a single word: pandemic. But we aren't here to talk about the valleys of the ride today. Help a Buddy had a ton of loop-de-loops and giant cheers on the coaster that was 2020. Come celebrate our journey with us!

Becoming a Household Name

2020 started with a stronger effort to connect with those who support animals' rights to a pain-free, healthy and happy lifestyle. We added to our volunteer base to bolster our social media and introduced Meet-Me-Mondays as an effort to highlight permanent or long-term fosters in care of animal rescue groups who needed some cross-exposure on social media.  We still continue our #MeetMeMonday posts as submissions are given.  As face-to-face interaction became limited in March of 2020, we worked behind the scenes to reach as much of our audience as we can so that one day, Help a Buddy can be universally recognized as a ally to Albertan rescues.

​Helping the Little Guys

In July, we hosted an online Paint Party fundraiser and were able to raise $100 towards the sponsorship of Costello, a permanent foster with the Greater Edmonton Animal Rescue Society. Costello is a semi-feral chihuahua and will remain with GEARS for the remainder of his life, where he will be given outstanding care. Our sponsorship covered approximately 6 months of Costello's supplies and medical expenses. Here you can see Costello living his best life. 

Becoming a Registered Charity

2020 was the year Help a Buddy achieved registered status as a charity in Canada. In the roller coaster of 2020, this is the moment we raised our arms above our head and let out a big WOOP. Becoming a charity was the highlight of our year because it meant we could begin assisting our rescue heroes in a substantial financial capacity. The goal for Help a Buddy was always to establish a granting program to help qualified rescues secure funding for especially large veterinary bills or the high cost of other supplies needed for the animals they cared for. Prior to becoming a charity, we needed to distribute funds from small fundraisers directly to the rescues we wanted to support, but with this change in status, we could actively seek large donations to our grants and pool money from multiple fundraisers to make a larger impact for animals in need at a single point in time.

Around the same time our charitable status was received, our President was experiencing the sudden emotional loss of her beloved shih-tzu, Bella, and so the Bella Bucks stream of our grant was developed with a specific look into supporting emergency surgeries for animals within care of an animal rescuer.

In October, we hosted an online silent auction in support of ARTS Senior Animal Rescue, in which we were able to donate over $1200 directly to the rescue, while reserving some proceeds for our grant program. We have currently raised over $1500 in donations towards our two grants, to be distributed in April of 2021.

Looking Ahead

It is difficult to make resolutions without knowing what 2021 will bring, but we are confident we can forge ahead to continue to make a difference in our community. Here are some of the Help a Buddy Fund's goals for the new year:

• Strengthen our volunteer base and increase opportunities for caring people to get involved with helping animals
• Plans for a new an exciting fundraiser to benefit a partnering rescue in February 2021
• Establishing a partnership with local businesses who will support our drive to secure resources for our animal welfare industry

How You Can Help 

Goals are best achieved through teamwork. So here are three things we are asking you to do to help make our resolutions a bit easier:

Attend our volunteer orientation on January 2, 2021.
Learn more about some of the ways you can help us to be bigger and better, and best support animals in need. Contact us to join our Zoom meeting where we can discuss these opportunities.

We are looking to be the animal rescue hero ally
We are continuously looking for partners in our animal rescue heroes. If you feel like your group can use a boost with assistance in a current fundraiser or event you are planning, our team is here to lend volunteers. Likewise, if you just don't have time to plan an event or fundraiser, we'd love to include you in our next one! Contact us and we'll be sure to work together to ensure optimal care of the animals you support.

If you are a local business wanting to do good, we want to hear from you
Please get in touch with us and we can develop a meaningful partnership. We would love to team up to develop any number of partnerships, whether it is financial, designed for event-hosting, cross-promotion, or more.

Until Next Year...

We look forward to what lays ahead. We certainly hope you'll come along for the ride. Until then, take a tip from Ambassador Scrappy and make sure to stay healthy with plenty of naps!