CHARLES TOWN, W.Va.—
Two hundred and fifty tickets sold at $40 apiece guaranteed that the Animal Welfare Society of Jefferson County would net $10,000 toward its $15,000 shelter renovation goal Saturday night at the society’s annual Valentine’s Day “Purrfect Buffet.”Society members hoped the other $5,000 would come from bidders at the soldout banquet during its main events — the live and silent auctions.
The buffet was hosted and sponsored by Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in its third-floor ballroom.
“Tonight was the third year for our Valentine’s Day buffet,” said Anne Marie Kolhepp, the event’s chairwoman. “I could have sold another 50 tickets if there was room. Word about this has really gotten around.”
Running the society’s shelter on Old Leetown Pike near the Jefferson County Fairgrounds is a continuing effort of finding enough space for its daily population of 20 dogs and puppies and 30 cats. Fundraising to maintain its $175,000 operating budget also is a never-ending fight, shelter officials said.
The money comes from monthly fundraising events, donations, a $15,000 grant from the Jefferson County Commission, United Way funding and adoption fees.
It costs $80 to adopt a cat and $120 for a dog. Each animal leaves the shelter spayed or neutered with all up-to-date shots, society member Jane Tarner said.
Adoptable dogs, mostly small ones, stay at the shelter for as little as two months. Larger dogs are harder to adopt and be can be there for a year, Tarner said.
The society, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, was organized in 1952 by a core group of community leaders. The shelter was built in 1985.
Any money made Saturday night goes into a capital fund to pay for renovations and expansions.
A couple of years ago, an area contractor offered to build a new shelter at no cost provided the society came up with donated materials, Kolhepp said.
“He got us excited. He gave us plans and everything,” Kohlhepp said.
When the economy took its downturn, the contractor went out of business, she said.
Society members regrouped and came up with a new plan to renovate and expand the shelter in phases based on money raised with events such as Saturday’s fundraiser.
A pressing need is construction of an isolation room for new animals when they arrive at the shelter.
Other projects will correct a drainage problem, and reconfigure outside kennels and fencing.
“After tonight, we will be one step closer to our dream — building a new shelter through phased renovations,” Kolhepp said
