Coast to coast kitty compassion: B.C. girl raises money for Stephenville SPCA
An animal shelter in western Newfoundland is overwhelmed with the support it's received following a devastating fire in March — especially from one young animal lover on Vancouver Island who decided to raise money and donate to the cause.
The tragic fire destroyed the Southwest Coast SPCA in Stephenville, resulting in the death of more than 20 cats.
- All 24 cats and kittens at Stephenville SPCA die in fire
Jessica MacLellan, a cat lover and Grade 6 student in Courtenay, B.C., read about the fire online and knew she had to help.
"I got really sad when I first read it," MacLellan told CBC's Corner Brook Morning Show. "I felt bad for all the cats that died."
As they try to rebound from the heart-wrenching tragedy, the SPCA is now operating out of the town's pound while it raises money to re-open at a new location.
Jessica figured she would step in to help the organization out. As part of a school project, she had to design her own business and sell products, with 10 per cent of the earnings to go to a charity of the student's choice.
At the end of the project, she donated $70 to help the SPCA rebuild.
"Just wow," said SPCA President Donna Hobbs.
"The support has been spectacular but to think that even people in B.C. were affected by what happened is amazing, that they would step up and do something like this for us."
Coast to coast compassion
Jessica says she knew she would send her earnings to the other side of the country — a province she had never been to before — to help out the SPCA.
"All the kitties that died really touched me, and I wanted to help," she said.
"It didn't matter that it was really far away."
Her mother Lori MacLellan said that given Jessica's relationship with her own cat, it isn't surprising that she would be so compassionate toward the Southwest Coast SPCA.
"It was good that Jessica was able to help out with the cats at the shelter who will need a new home now."
The town of Stephenville donated land to the SPCA, and Hobbs said it's just a matter of raising the necessary funds to build a new facility.
"Fundraising is going well, we still have a long ways to go," Hobbs said.
"We have our land and we need a building. We're going to put up a nice building, a very nice building to serve the entire area [of] the southwest coast.
Hobbs hopes construction will begin sometime this summer.
