EAST CENTRAL 鈥� Staff and board members of the North East SPCA (NESPCA) are livestreaming their nights sleeping in kennel cages as part of a fundraiser for the Harry and Eve Vickar Shelter in Melfort.
Kristy Mason, the NESPCA鈥檚 shelter manager said that they had first discussed this as a fundraiser after North Battleford鈥檚 SPCA ran a similar one with success.
鈥淲e鈥檝e changed it a little bit,鈥� Mason said. 鈥淭hey did it that people could go home after they reached a certain mark but with us we鈥檙e going to stay the full time, but we鈥檙e also going to bring in mystery guests.鈥�
From June 1 to 5, participating staff and board members will each have their own kennel in, being provided with bedding that would typically be given to animals.
Mason said this is to help create awareness of what life is like for a shelter animal.
鈥淚t鈥檚 actually pretty nice here. They have a 4x8 kennel, a cement floor but they do have prada beds, which are raised off the ground, and then they also get blankets,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 basically what we鈥檒l be running with, which is significantly less than what we鈥檙e used to at home.鈥�
Each day, the participants have a goal of reaching at least $500. Whoever raises the most will be given the opportunity to pick a challenge for participants to attempt that night.
These challenges can include things such as the handstand challenge. The handstand challenge requires a person to put on a T-shirt while doing a handstand.
鈥淚t鈥檚 way harder than it sounds,鈥� Mason said.
A different mystery guest will be brought in to spend one night in a kennel if they do not reach their personal pledge goal of $500 before 8 p.m.
鈥淚t will be some political figures and some people who are pretty well known in the communities.鈥�
The NESPCA鈥檚 total goal for this event is to raise $5,000 by June 5 at 5 p.m.
Donations can be made to [email protected]. The challenges can be viewed live on the North East SPCA Facebook page at facebook.com/northeast.spca.
鈥淭une in to watch us try to survive sleeping like the dogs do, it鈥檚 going to be interesting. I feel like we鈥檙e going to have some sore muscles in the morning.鈥�
