MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The campaign for a new shelter for Animal Friends of North Central West Virginia is getting a $50,000 shot in the arm from Your Community Foundation.
YCF President and CEO Patty Showers Ryan said the gift is made possible by the estate of Betty R. Lynch.
“Through the Betty R. Lynch Endowment for Animals to Animal Friends of North Central West Virginia, a $50,000 donation to support their efforts to build a brand new shelter,” Showers-Ryan said on a resident edition of WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.”
For the last 20 years the organization has operated from two donated trailers on Brewer Road off Route 119 South near Morgantown. The facility has not only become too outdated to repair but is now running out of space, according to treasurer Cathy Orosz.
“Our existing shelter is in desperate need of repair,” Orosz said. “We are having to spend money on repairing things like air conditioning, floors, roofs, and things like that, so we are desperate to raise funds to build a new shelter.”
The volume and cost of the repairs eat into the funds needed to complete the mission of the organization, so a separate fund has been established for the project. A new facility will provide the animals and volunteers with a stable, safe place to continue to operate a no-kill shelter.
“You spend a bunch of money to try to fix something that’s old or you take the time to invest in something that is new and will help this organization long-term,” Showers-Ryan said.
The proposed 6,700 square foot facility will have a senior dog room, food preparation area, exterior fenced-in dog pens, a fenced-in play yard, and support rooms for laundry, grooming and medical isolation on the first floor. The second floor will include an administration area, four kitten rooms, two adult cat rooms, a screened-in catio porch, an intake room and puppy/kitten nurseries.
“We’ll have additional things like a dog park, a catio, and more dog runs—dogs will be on the bottom floor, and cats will be on the top floor,” Orosz said.
The goal for the campaign is $2 million but Orosz said they’ll start construction when they reach $1.5 million. For more information about the project, call the Thrift Shop in the Mountaineer Mall at 304-291-5825.
“Right now we have $530,000 in the fund and we need $1.5 million to build the shelter, an additional $500,000 to build the parking lot and additional things we’ll need,” Orosz said.