TEARS says that this is the first time it has aligned a fundraising campaign to GivingTuesday.
The foundation adds that it hopes to generate a groundswell of support from Capetonians by inspiring individuals to donate R20 on Tuesday, 28 November. This will provide vital funding to support the TEARS Veterinary Hospital and Mobile Clinic teams and the TEARS Kennel and Cattery, which collectively rehabilitate and rehome nearly 1 000 rescue pets annually.
TEARS head of marketing and fundraising Lara Van Rensburg says, "While most people think of TEARS as a Kennel and Cattery, by far the most critical part of TEARS and the beating heart of its outreach and animal welfare operation are the TEARS Mobile Clinic and TEARS Veterinary Hospital which rescue up to 100 animals every month."
Based on its most critical outputs — which include veterinary outreach, rescue and treatment support to homeless, abused, injured and sick companion animals — TEARS is hoping to raise R1.2-million as part of its fundraising budget for this fiscal.
According to TEARS, the organisation relies 100% on donations and spends approximately R8 000 000 — R10 000 000 on veterinary treatment and community outreach per annum. It spends approximately R 600 000 per month to operate the TEARS Hospital and Mobile Clinics and provide welfare and rescue services across the Southern Cape Peninsula.
The TEARS Veterinary Hospital, which is open seven days a week, is headed up by Dr Tania Hauer and includes nine support staff. It operates between 8:00 and 16:30 daily, with the TEARS Mobile Clinics continuing to operate until 21:00 daily — offering the only companion animal welfare healthcare after-hour service in the Southern Peninsula, says the foundation.
The TEARS Veterinary Hospital includes a second surgery and a dedicated cat ward. The hospital processes an average of 50-60 patients per day, which involves sterilisations, scheduled and emergency surgeries, as well as a variety of assessments and tests that range from:
- blood work
- X-rays, and
- ultra-sounds.
"We're optimistic that we can set a record for the most amount of money donated to a Cape Town-based animal rescue charity on any previous GivingTuesday. If each one of our social media followers pledges support for this campaign, we'll raise in excess of R1-million, which will powerfully demonstrate how each person's "small change" can make a big collective difference," says Van Rensburg.
GivingTuesday was launched in 2012 with a simple idea to create a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past 11 years, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate and celebrate generosity, says TEARS.
"GivingTuesday inspires people all around the world to embrace their power to drive progress around the causes they care about, not just on one day but throughout the year," says Asha Curran, GivingTuesday's chief executive officer.
"With country and community leaders, millions of organisations, and countless givers of all kinds, GivingTuesday is creating a shared space where we can see the radical implications of a more generous world," Curran concludes.
Those who are interested in joining the TEARS 'R20 to Change the World' GivingTuesday initiative can visit the TEARS
website and donate via SnapScan or Zapper, using GivingTuesday as a reference.
EFT donations can also be made via the TEARS bank account:
- Account name: TEARS
- Bank: Standard Bank
- Current bank account: 072062886
- Branch number: 051001
Donations to TEARS are tax-deductible, with donors receiving a Section 18A tax receipt.