Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue now has more money to help the city's stray animals.

On Wednesday afternoon the Taste of Summer Charity BBQ made exactly $1571.17 in hot dog sales for the non-profit. Foster Care Coordinator Amanda Lipton says the organization exists to provide medical treatment and adoption services to abandoned or owner-surrendered pets in the region and these funds allow them to do just that.

In addition to paying for ongoing vet bills, Lipton says a small portion of the funds will be set aside for a much larger project they have on the go.

“We are in desperate need of a building,” she explains. “We are always having to go on intake freezes, and having a lot more space to take in a lot more animals would be really nice.”

The operation is currently run out of the homes of workers and volunteers and the hope is to eventually have the finances to purchase a facility of their very own. By way of illustration, Lipton mentions that her organization has had to turn away over ten kittens just this week as a result of insufficient room. Currently, Steinbach and Area Animal Rescue has roughly $30,000 stowed away for the project, but they cannot really move ahead until that number triples. In light of that, Lipton says every little bit of money helps.

“For us to get picked for the charity BBQ and for people to come out and support us means a lot; it really touches us.”

The following community partners are a key part of each and every Taste of Summer Charity Barbecue:

Steinbach Credit Union
Sobeys
Clearview Coop
The Rental House
Royal LePage Riverbend Realty
Landville Drywall
Elite Redi-Mix
Kiansky Well Drilling
The LumberZone
Friesen Drillers
Pearl Transport
Clearwater Supply Company
Subway