As cold winter descends upon Gauteng, Seeff Randburg-West Rand recently organised a successful donation drive of food, blankets, toys and other supplies on behalf of the ARK Animal Centre and Puppy Shelter in an effort to raise awareness for the province’s stray and township dogs.
Christopher Hajec, Managing Director for Seeff Randburg-West Rand says the idea for this drive originated at a group training session that is held once monthly for their entire agent team.
“On this particular occasion we were tasked with finding a community project that presented a common passion that resonated throughout the group.
It didn’t take very long until it became clear that the plight of homeless and abandoned animals in the province – particularly this time of year – was a cause that the majority of our team felt was an area they would like to make a difference.”
As it turned out Cherie Eilertsen, a nationally and internationally known business coach for the real estate industry who was coaching at this training session has a close family tie at ARK Animal Centre and Puppy Shelter and the group immediately decided to direct their focus to this charity.
Hajec says ARK is a non-profit organisation run by a group of dedicated individuals who are passionate about animals and is one of Johannesburg’s leading rehabilitation and re-homing animal shelters specialising in puppies and expectant dogs.
ARK was founded by Tracy Otto, her two daughters and their intense love for dogs in July 2011 and in their first hundred days, they homed 100 puppies – a first in animal welfare.
Tracy says they also received “over 10 000 emails, their Facebook page exploded with likes and to date they have homed thousands of puppies to approved homes around South Africa.”
With around 160 dogs on the premises at any given time, Tracy and her daughters are always in need of donations and charitable contributions to assist them in the myriad of services they provide to the animals they care for.
Our biggest expenses are vet bills and medication, but it is followed closely by food and other items needed on a daily basis to provide a comfortable and humane environment”.
In addition to the adoption centre and spay and neuter clinic, Tracy’s team goes into area townships and informal settlements and offers medical assistance and advice that is desperately needed in these economically challenged areas.
Tracy sold her house in 2011 to purchase the land that Ark was established on and now rents a nearby apartment.
“That’s one of the reasons group efforts like those put together by Seeff are so important to us, said an earnest Otto, “the combined efforts of a large team of dedicated individuals can make all the difference in the world to us.”
Hajec says that it was a moment of pride when he saw what his team of agents had managed to put together in terms of donations at the group event hosted at the Centre.
“Honestly, I couldn’t believe the way everyone came together and the generosity that flowed.
We literally looked at hundreds and hundreds of kilos of food, over 50 blankets, toys and every manner of supplies.
“When I saw the veritable mountain of donations, I knew that we were making a significant difference in the lives of needy animals and their selfless care givers and it put into perspective for me the impact local business can make in the community if it just puts its mind to it.”
Seeff agents were treated to play time with the puppies and more than a few tears were shed during the event which was dubbed with the tagline, “Seeff, dedicated to finding everybody a home.”
If you are interested in finding out more information about ARK have a look on the ARK website or to make a donation today by sending an SMS ‘donate food’ to 48748 (@R10 per SMS). You can also make them the charity of choice with your Woolworth’s My School Card.
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