To donate, go to: http://www.montereycountygives.com/
Animal Friends Rescue Project
Year Founded: 1998
Paid Staff and Volunteers: 12 paid, 314 volunteers
Budget: $1,028,050
333-0722
The Big Idea: Community help can give homeless cats and dogs a second chance at life. Animal Friends Rescue Project regularly rescues cats and dogs that no one wants to adopt from shelters because they’re sick or injured – animals that would otherwise be euthanized. Last year’s MC Gives! donations helped AFRP rescue and temporarily board 29 dogs, as well as provide basic medical care for an additional 59 cats and dogs. AFRP got the critters out of shelters, gave them needed care and eventually found them forever homes. Let’s give even more animals a second chance in 2014.
Loyal Companions: “AFRP makes a lifetime commitment to every single animal that comes into our care.”
Friends of the Sea Otter
Year Founded: 1968
Paid Staff and Volunteers: 2 paid, 2 volunteers
Budget: $212,000
915-3275
The Big Idea: Last year, Friends of the Sea Otter’s big idea was to create a folded card, similar to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Guides, that gives the Bay’s recreational users tips and guidelines about how to interact with sea otters when out on the water. But the group didn’t raise the needed $7,500, so it’s back on the table for 2014. The nonprofit needs local support to make the guide, which would be distributed through retail outlets such as kayak, dive and surf shops, hotels, state park and beach visitor centers and at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Reserve.
Save the Sea Otter: “The Monterey Bay Aquarium relies on Friends of the Sea Otter to continue its crucial role as a champion for sea otter conservation.”
– Andrew Johnson, manager, Sea Otter Research and Conservation, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Marine Life Studies
Year Founded: 2006
Paid Staff and Volunteers: 0 paid, 59 volunteers
Budget: $71,800
901-3833
The Big Idea: Last year’s Gives! donations helped keep the Whale Entanglement Team (WET) rapid-response boat in the water at Moss Landing Harbor through 2013. Previously, the all-volunteer group could only afford to have the boat at the ready for about six weeks a year – and having a boat in the water increases the speed at which the trained WET team, a group of volunteers under the direction of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, can respond to a report of an entangled whale in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. But keeping the boat in the water isn’t free. The nonprofit has to pay for slip fees, maintenance, fuel and other costs. The group’s asking the community to dig deep (like the ocean) and keep the WET boat off of dry land and responding to entangled whales dragging gear.
Cetaceans and Conservation: “Research. Conservation. Education. The work of Marine Life Studies contributes meaningfully in so many ways!”
– Pieter Folkens, lead whale disentangler, WET
Peace of Mind Dog Rescue
Year Founded: 2009
Paid Staff and Volunteers: 1 paid, 300 volunteers
Budget: $339,000
718-9122
The Big Idea: Peace of Mind Dog Rescue’s goal for 2014 is to take in 150 senior dogs – the oldies but goodies, per the nonprofit’s big idea – provide them with medical care and loving foster homes, and then place them in forever homes. Whether a senior dog is surrendered to a shelter or a guardian passes away and family members bring the animals directly to POMDR, the group aims to make the rest of that dog’s days the best months or years of its life. The organization covers the cost of a full exam, blood work, dental cleanings and extractions, vaccines and microchipping. Many need intervention for arthritis or need lumps biopsied and excised. Any health issues are addressed so each dog can put its best paw forward when meeting new adopters. POMDR spends an average of $1,000 on every dog it rescues. Pitch in and help these oldies but goodies get a second lease on life.
Donate Generously, You Will: “Thank you for what you are doing with this amazing organization. You have touched my heart so much in helping me and my dear Yoda.”
– Daphne E
the SPCA for Monterey County
Year Founded: 1905
Paid Staff and Volunteers: 71 paid,
250 volunteers
Budget: $5,693,901
373-2631
The Big Idea: The SPCA for Monterey County is the only agency in Monterey County that investigates crimes against animals and submits cases to the District Attorney for prosecution. Last fiscal year SPCA humane officers investigated about 600 cases of animal cruelty and neglect, and rescued 256 animals. Some of these high-profile cases include 51 cats rescued from a hoarder in Seaside; 53 dogs and cats rescued from a hoarder in Monterey; 17 animals seized from a “rescue” agency selling sick dogs, cats and birds at a Sand City shopping center; and numerous horses rescued after being abandoned or abused. In 2014, you can help SPCA humane investigations protect animals from people. Donations will keep three humane officers and one supervisor in the field, investigating crimes against animals, rescuing abused and abandoned animals, and preparing cases for the DA to prosecute.
Crimes Against Animals: “The District Attorney has some of the best investigators at the SPCA. I’m extremely impressed with their success with cases… they are the voice for the animals.”
– Marie Aronson, Monterey County deputy district attorney
Ventana Wildlife Society
Year Founded: 1977
Paid Staff and Volunteers: 12 paid, 10 volunteers
Budget: $920,000
455-9514
The Big Idea: In California, there are only 123 condors living in the wild and of those, 60 are in Central California. The Ventana Wildlife Society has spent the last 17 years reintroducing condors to the wild and has established a local population. Lead from spent ammunition is a major threat to the birds, but the coast offers hope. Condors eat dead animals, and on the coast, marine mammals abound, providing a nontoxic, lead-ammunition-free source of food. The nonprofit’s big idea is to breed 10 pairs of condors in the next three years. In doing so, it will expand population growth and recover the condor more quickly. With Gives! help and existing collaborations, the organization will create a broader network of temporary feeding areas from Carmel to San Simeon designed to “introduce” wild condors to new foraging areas.
Free Birds: “Ventana Wildlife Society’s track record in wildlife restoration, in particular their success with bald eagles and California condors, is highly commendable.”
– Christopher J. Barr, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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