Animal Matters: Sainsbury’s support has been invaluable

Myself and Bailey collecting the huge cheque from store manager, Will Pitcairn along with some other staff members. Big thanks to them all and a special thank you to Mellisa Ireland and Pauline Thompson.

Throughout the 12 months we have been invited by the store to help with bag-packing events as well as setting up our presentation kit in the foyer to chat with customers about our charity and its work.

In addition there has been a collection tin for us at each till point in the store. The result of all this activity has been a remarkable collection total of £10,081! All this is thanks to the generosity of the staff and customers as well as the invaluable help of our own volunteers.

This fantastic donation means a lot to us. It will make a huge difference to our work providing care and shelter to animals in need.

Thanks to the generosity of Sainsbury’s customers and staff we will now be able to replace our van (which is a tiny old W reg) with something much more reliable and better suited to our needs. At present we are limited with the number of animals we can transport due to the small size of the vehicle we have. The replacement will be bigger and fitted out with individual crates meaning trips to the vets or to fields, for example, will be easier, quicker and more comfortable for the animals.

In addition to this money raised during the past year, there has been a trolley by the exit for customers to donate pet food if they wanted to. These donations alone have amounted to almost £3,000 in value making a massive difference to our running costs and it has meant that the only food we have had to buy is any specialist mix for animals with special dietary needs.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Kelso and the surrounding area for their incredible support.

Finally, as a charity that has to fund itself completely through the generosity of the public, if you feel that you would like to support us in some way then please visit the ‘how you can help’ section on our website Home page. There are many ways you can make a difference with us, ranging from sponsoring an animal or kennel to volunteering at our shops in Galashiels and Duns to name but two. So why not check out the website and give us a call!