As most of you know, 2014 was our biggest challenge and we faced many obstacles and tragedies. The world came to our rescue and gave us some much-needed support. People we had never met and didn’t even know wrapped their arms around us and helped us get back on our feet. They were there at our lowest point to ease the pain and comfort us. We were amazed at the kindness of strangers.
Almost one year later we are once again touched by the kindness of strangers. There is something magical happening at The Ark. In the days after the fire, I was contacted by a local artist, Karin Cohen, who wanted to do something special for the beloved 16 cats that perished in the fire. Her thought was to do a painting of them and with our approval she quickly put the wheels in motion. Karin put this idea on Facebook and much to our surprise she had artists from around the world wanting to help by doing a painting. We have artists from Spain, Holland the UK, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and so many other places each doing a painting of one of the cats. We were shocked and humbled that so many people wanted to be a part of this tribute. The paintings have started to arrive and I am in awe of the talent of these artists. As each painting arrives I am hit by a wave of emotions, my eyes fill up with tears and I remember that day March 12, 2014, a day we will never forget. A day that we lost everything including our beloved 16.
We have decided to do two major fundraisers to showcase this artwork that pays tribute to the cats that perished in the fire. It will be a celebration of love, life and remembrance and we hope you all will join us. The wonderful paintings will find their final home on the walls of the new sanctuary when it is completed. These cats will be memorialized and never forgotten.
The first fundraiser will take place on Fri. March 20, at 6 p.m. at The Horn. Once the wonderful people at The Horn heard about the paintings they graciously opened their banquet room to us. It will be a buffet at $24.95 per person which includes meal, dessert, coffee and gratuity and a portion of that will go to The Ark as well. Tim Humphrey has volunteered his time to play music for the evening and of course the art work will be on display.
The second fundraiser will take place on Sat. April 4 at The Elks club from 4 – 8 p.m. It will be an Italian menu with a silent auction as well as a dessert auction. We will also have the art work on display here as well. All of the nights proceeds will go towards our building efforts.
We are so very excited about these fundraiser’s and hope you will all come out an join us. If you would like to help at The Elks please contact Lorraine at 532-7387. We are in need of auction items and people to make desserts.
To the artists and to Karin Cohen you have no idea how touched we are by your generosity, we can’t thank you enough you have proven once again the love of animals brings people together in our case it has brought the world together . You have made this journey so much easier for us and for that we thank you.
Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
