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Making Change

Caring for our community

Animal Welfare League of Alexandria

Helping animals, supporting community

Above: Sarah Manning, Raven Fleisher, and Jacob Grajales. (Photo: MainStreet Bank)

Raven Fleisher loves animals. She adopted her cat, Zelda, from the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria in 2023. And when she got the opportunity to make a $1,000 donation through MainStreet Bank’s Making Change program, she jumped at the chance to give back.
 
The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, or AWLA, rescued Raven’s cat at just a few weeks old when she was found in a storm drain with three of her litter mates. The kittens were brought back to the shelter where they were cleaned, fed, and named after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (Zelda was originally called Raphaela.)
 
But Raven, a Connect Support Specialist for MainStreet Bank, was a fan of AWLA long before adopting Zelda. She’s been visiting the shelter for over a decade and her daughter participated in the organization’s “book buddies” program where kids practice reading to the adoptable animals.
 
“It’s a great organization to donate to. They’re so friendly with everyone,” Raven said.
 
When Raven went to deliver her donation, she was greeted with warm smiles by Sarah Manning, development operations specialist, and Jacob Grajales, development associate. Sarah showed Raven a video of Zelda and the other kittens getting their first bath at the shelter before taking her on a tour.

Above: Zelda and her siblings when they first arrived at AWLA. (Photo: Animal Welfare League of Alexandria)

“We’re so much more than a shelter,” Sarah said. AWLA goes beyond animal rescues and adoptions, offering a wide variety of programs to assist pet owners in the community.
 
Their community pet pantry provides free supplies for those struggling to make ends meet. They have a state-of-the-art mobile veterinary clinic and offer low-cost vaccination and microchip clinics and community pet wellness events with free veterinary care. They have a robust set of educational programs and offer behavioral help for owners struggling with issues like dog separation anxiety. They even have a program where community members facing crises like homelessness or hospitalization can have their pets temporarily cared for by the shelter.
 
“We want to keep people and pets together. The No. 1 reason pets are surrendered is usually because of some financial hardship,” Sarah said. “We can reduce the number of animals that don’t have homes by supporting the community as a whole.”
 
In 2023 AWLA placed 1,545 animals for adoption, vaccinated 2,463 pets, gave out 454 vouchers for pets to get spayed or neutered, and distributed over 56,000 pounds of pet food and supplies to those in need. With almost half of their revenue coming from donations, financial support is key to keeping these programs going.
 
“We’re so grateful for this donation,” Sarah said. “It will go a long way to help these kitties out and also people in our community.”

Left: adoptable kitten “Churro”; Right: A volunteer pets an adoptable cat (Photos: MainStreet Bank)

To learn more about Animal Welfare League of Alexandria visit alexandriaanimals.org

View all donations

Making Change: A community giving initiative from MainStreet Bank

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