At RE/MAX Capitol Properties, we love to see our agents getting involved in the community and taking action to help others. One of our agents, Austin Coward, with the Riedel Real Estate Team, has been a driving force behind raising funds for the Cheyenne Animal Shelter.
As you may have heard, this has been a year full of challenges for Cheyenne Animal Shelter. With the sudden onboarding of over 50 large-breed dogs and dozens of birds from a local hoarding case, they had work cut out for them. The facility was quickly reaching max capacity, with many dogs in need of medical attention, serious grooming, and a tremendous amount of love. The shelter needed the support of the community and its volunteers more than ever. Austin has had a long-standing passion for the shelter and only has spent many hours volunteering there. After the addition of the hoarding-case dogs, Austin set out to do as much as he could to help the animals through organizing a fundraiser and raising nearly $4000 for the shelter. We asked Austin a few questions about his efforts to help the shelter. Here’s what he had to say:
What drives your passion for the community and Animal Shelter specifically?
“I have always believed that there is no greater purpose than to serve others and that drives me to work hard in the community and to pursue my passion for animals by working with the animal shelter. It doesn’t matter if I’m cleaning kennels, doing dishes, walking dogs, or hanging out the cats, or volunteering at events, I know I’m helping the animals in some way and that is what drives me to work as hard as I can and continue to put in the work. In addition, it is inspiring to witness, and participate in, the tireless efforts of the staff and volunteers as they make a lasting impact on not only the lives of the animals in their care, but the people in our community.”Â
What was your goal and did you reach it? How much was raised?
“I didn’t really know what to expect when I had the idea to do this fundraiser and to promote it, I just threw it at the wall to see if it stuck. I canvased to get donations from businesses around town, had people put up flyers, sent out press releases, and even went on the radio. I figured we would raise a couple thousand dollars but didn’t know it would reach almost $4,000! To add to that success, we also had a few dogs go to their forever homes.”
Austin also wanted to say a big thank-you to all the businesses who donated, and all the people who came out and supported the Cheyenne Animal Shelter. He encouraged others to get involved in causes they care about, saying, “if you are passionate about something, get involved and provide a helping hand to those who cannot help themselves. See what kind of difference you can make in your community and inspire others to do the same.”
The shelter will use donations for anything from helping to pay their staff, helping to pay for vet bills, and lowering adoption fees. If you are interested in supporting the Cheyenne Animal Shelter, visit their website to learn more at www.cheyenneanimalshelter.org.