The provincial government announced Monday, July 31st, funding of $225,000 for Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue (SAAR).
With this funding, the rescue will now be able to have a building to house the animals, instead of relying solely on fosters willing to make space in their homes.
MLA Kelvin Goertzen says SAAR has done a lot of good, and without a lot of government support, so they are glad to now come alongside to help the rescue thrive.
“It's a group of people who have a passion for something, and who see a need, and they fill that need, and they fill it by using their own personal resources, or their own homes, or their own vehicles at times,” he says. “And then government comes along sometimes after that and says, ‘here's an organization who's doing a lot of really good stuff. They're doing it without a lot of government support, so if we came alongside, they could just do more of it.’”
Goertzen says they proved themselves first, and then they received the funding.
“And I think sometimes that makes the best kind of announcement because it's not government who's making this happen. It's the organization who made it happen.”
He recognizes the volunteers have been working extremely hard, and the organization has a lot of support from the community.
“There's a need to rescue animals and provide loving care, and then hopefully find a forever home for them. So that ultimately is what this is about. I think it values the organization, and the organization has obviously proven to have value in the community.”
Mayor Earl Funk says the organization is both filled with and supported by such generous people.
“These are volunteers that have been doing the work they're doing with abandoned animals in our community out of their garages, out of their homes, and out of their vehicles.”
He says it’s amazing that they will now be able to have a space dedicated to taking in animals.
“Now they will have a place where their organization can call home, and they can actually do the work in a building that is going to be designed for that work to happen,” he says. “There will be so much more good things to come out it and we just thank them so much.”
Funk says something that makes this so exciting, is that the volunteers do all the work as well as run their organization.
“First they did it without government help, and now the government has seen what they're doing, and the government says, ‘this is a good thing, let's help them out and let's get them going in a building so they can do this job properly and not be limited by the space they have in their homes.’”
With files from Adi Loewen
Sun, May 19, 12:00 PM
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