By Greg Fox
Until recently I worked in the corporate world. For the last 15-plus years, I traveled weekly, many times with multiple flights per week. Being a lifetime weightlifter with poor posture, days before the pandemic started, I underwent spinal cord surgery. While out on disability, I took advantage of the downtime and did some serious self-reflection. I decided it was time for a change: I wanted to be at home more – and equally importantly, I wanted to give back instead of constantly taking – living in a world full of increasing consumption.
One day, my younger daughter and I were shopping at Pet Valu, a chain of pet stores that was a COVID casualty. It happened to be their last day. We had an idea. We bought all the remaining dog food and stacked it in the back of my truck. We carefully drove it over to the Voorhees Animal Orphanage (VAO), a local municipal animal shelter near where we live, and coincidentally where I got my first dog, Bodhi (a pit bull mix).
While unloading the food at the shelter I was speaking with a manager there, and, long story short: I applied and was elected to be on the Board of Directors.
You see, I drove by this run-down shelter every day, and I was saddened to see it literally falling apart. The Animal Orphanage was in such dire need of money, awareness and understanding. I knew personally what a lack of understanding can mean when it comes to rescuing certain dogs. It so happens that I myself panicked the day my wife and I brought Bodhi home, and a neighbor informed me that he was a pit bull. I called my wife (of 3 weeks) to tell her I was taking him back; I was one of so many who are misinformed about pit bulls and shelter dogs.
Fortunately, in the end I didn’t return Bodhi. We shared twelve amazing years with him. He was part of the family when each of my daughters was born; my daughters both learned how to walk pulling on his tail.
I wanted to help create more of these stories like ours with Bodhi; saving more lives and helping to make more families with pets.
With a flexible schedule, I was able to spend some time at the shelter and it quickly became apparent to me that the staff was running it the best they could with the limited resources they had. But they desperately needed money. They rely on donations to stay afloat and most years what they brought in wasn’t enough to support all of their needs. While they were able to build a new building (which we have already grown out of), that unfortunately meant taking out a large mortgage – something they’d hoped wouldn’t be necessary. But the grand opening – and thus the funds it would have brought in – was cancelled due to COVID, and they had to close to the public for six months.
I decided that I wanted to do more to help VAO than I could do as a board member. I wanted to work there in development and devote my days to increasing awareness and raising funds. As the Development Director, I designed a plan, the goal of which was to make the VAO profitable and to pay off the mortgage. I am leveraging my network of primarily Jewish friends/businesses to offer new events for the shelter; ones which can also bring awareness to these supporters and their businesses. Needing to increase our donor base, this was a perfect opportunity for a unique approach to saving homeless pets’ lives across the 30 municipalities in NJ served by VAO.
This past year, which was my first year, I created a Mitzvah Walk in which B’nai Mitzvah kids across the area banded together for their Mitzvah Projects in an organized walk at Connolly Park in Voorhees. 100% of the proceeds from the Walk benefit the homeless animals. A nice perk of helping out VOA is that any Bar/Bat Mitzvah child who raises a certain amount of money will have a plaque commemorating their contribution/event on our Mitzvah Wall inside the dog kennels entrance forever. In its first year, we raised over $15,000 from the Mitzvah Walk and much needed supplies were donated! We are going to host at least one Mitzvah Walk a year, and it will be open to any B’nai Mitzvah child and/or supporter.
The highlight of my first year was our year-end First Annual PitBall Gala, which was held at the Mansion in Voorhees (where I got married). This event raised well over $100,000 and was featured on multiple news fronts! We were able to turn a profit for the first time in a long time.
My favorite part of “work” is giving private tours. I get to watch something amazing happen every time. Once we walk into the Cattery or Dog Kennel, I witness people instantly making connections with animals – most of the time using their “baby” voice!
Now the hard part…the challenge I am faced with every day is asking individuals and businesses for donations in a world full of increasing inflation and with a looming recession ahead. I try every day to harness my passion for this place and these animals and to think of creative ways to reach more people so we can ultimately stay open and save more lives every single day, 365 days a year. I am proud to say we have saved almost 40,000 lives since 1988. My hope and my goal is that we will save many, many more animals’ lives – and in doing so, we will have the added benefit of bringing immeasurable joy to so many humans.
You can check out Voorhees Animal Orphanage’s website at https://www.vaonj.org/.
To donate, go to https://www.vaonj.org/support/donate/#.
And you can follow VOA on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/voorheesanimalorphanage) or Instagram (https://twitter.com/vaonjorg).
