Fundraising during RAGBRAI®’s overnight in Jefferson last month was a “double barrel hit,” according to Don Orris, who is leading the volunteer effort to raise $1.2 million to build a new Greene County animal shelter.
Members of the fundraising committee and People for Animal Welfare Society (P.A.W.S.), along with other volunteers, spent the day in Scranton and the evening in Jefferson. HyVee donated bottled water and bananas which were traded with RAGBRAI riders for donations. Orris said that was a “big hit.” Riders donated just less than $5,000 to the cause.
Home State Bank offered to match riders’ donations and local donations up to $25,000. That offer prompted local donations of more than $18,000, for a total of about $23,000, which Home State Bank matched.
The animal shelter committee and P.A.W.S. thanked both businesses and all the volunteers who made the fundraiser a success. “We still need help from everyone to achieve final success,” Orris said.
The total raised to date, including pledges, exceeds $200,000, he added.
