February 17, 2022
Supporting Our Friends
I’ve long believed that more can be done for the animals when people and groups work together as friends.
While the OHS is by far the largest animal welfare organization in Ottawa, there are others: local rescue groups, and groups that specialize in care for farm animals, birds and wildlife.
When the public health crisis began, we knew it would impact our services and our partners’ services. Our partners commonly rely heavily on events to raise funds for the animals in their care, and COVID put a sudden halt to events as we knew them.
To help support our partners through the financial challenges of the public health crisis, we raided the piggy bank and created the OHS Partner Support Program. By the end of 2020, the program had helped support more than 2,800 animals in the community that might not have received the care they needed without a boost.
Seeing this success — and the tremendous need — we knew the program should be more than emergency support during this time of crisis. We extended the program to run on a regular cycle and devoted more funds to it. Now, twice a year, partners can apply for grants using a simple application and providing a short report on what the support has done for the animals in their care.
To date, the program has helped our friends care for an astounding 7,200 animals in our community, and another round of support is coming shortly.
The OHS has long been a friend and a refuge for Ottawa’s animals. We also want to be friends to our partners, and helping out one another is what friends do.
Bruce Roney
President & CEO