When Andrea Williamson dealt with personal issues involving relationships in her life, she sought solace through helping rescued animals.
To help rebuild several relationships with loved ones, Williamson, 39, took a few intense self-help seminars.
In one of the seminars, Williamson was tasked with a community project, an assignment that showed she could make a difference in her community. She chose to help the Chula Vista Animal Care Facility by creating a nonprofit called Love for Rescues.
The objective of the nonprofit is to help make the lives of animals better while they are in the local shelter.
“I’ve loved animals for as long as I can remember,” she said. “I just wanted to give back to them.”
She did this by creating a Gofundme page, accumulating donations from friends, family and complete strangers.
Getting the word out, she posted the GoFundMe page on social media and created flyers that she posted around her neighborhood.
In all, she collected more than $600 for the animals’ medical care, food, bedding and other things animals may need.
Gofundme charges a five percent on all donations, but Williamson said all the monies went to the shelter.
“I basically wrote out a check for every single penny (raised) minus that 5 percent,” she said. “I didn’t keep a dime of it.”
She kept the GoFundMe page open so that she can continue to collect donations for the shelter.
To donate, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/atgrm64c
Williamson not only gave money to the shelter, she donated a trunk full of stuff like dog food, dog beds, treats, toys, dog kennels, shampoos, old towels and old blankets .
Williamson said there is a bigger problem when it comes to animal shelters and she hopes the donations can help ease the issue.
She once volunteered at the animal shelter where she saw firsthand animals, particularly dogs, getting euthanized because of over population in shelters.
She said the nonprofit also aims at encouraging pet owners to adopt from local shelters, not from breeders.
According to the American Society For the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, about 6.5 million companion animals enter an animal shelter nationwide yearly. Of those, about 1.5 million animals are euthanized every year.
“I would just like to get the awareness out there to adopting from shelters because there are millions of euthanized animals.”
Williamson currently owns five dogs, three of them she adopted from a shelter.
“They are just so loving; they fulfill my life,” she said. “I can’t imagine my life without having any animals.”
