Against All Odds Cat Rescue wins annual Charitable Giving Campaign
Against All Odds Cat Rescue wins annual Charitable Giving Campaign
LANSING, Mich. – Apparently the odds were in their favor, as Against All Odds Cat Rescue won the closest race in the 6-year history of Eaton Community Bank’s annual Charitable Giving Campaign.
With 30 percent of the final vote, Against All Odds narrowly edged Earth To Table Urban Garden (28 percent) and Helping Hands Food Pantry (21 percent). In fact, the voting was so close that Against All Odds trailed heading into the final day.
“Wow; that’s amazing,” Against All Odds Cat Rescue President & co-founder Keera Ferris said. “We’ve got an amazing group of volunteers and supporters that deserve all the credit.
“Seriously, I never imagined all this when we started back in 2020. This was my COVID project. We thought maybe we’d be able to save 50 cats a year. And even though we’re 100 percent volunteer run, we’ve managed to save more than 1,000 cats now.”
The remaining finalists were Housing Services Mid-Michigan with 10 percent of the vote, and Eaton County Humane Services with 9 percent.
Eaton’s annual campaign lives on social media and is 100 percent community driven. Each year the bank announces the campaign’s start in early October across its social media channels with a public call for nominations. Requirements for participation are simple; nominees must be a registered non-profit organization based locally and serving the local communities. In early November the five finalists are announced as voting opens via the bank’s social media channels. Each organization has until the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to generate as many community votes as possible with the winner announced on Giving Tuesday.
While the winner is presented with a $5,000 donation, each of the remaining finalists receive a $1,000 donation.
“This has been an absolutely fantastic opportunity and all of us at Earth To Table Urban Garden are so grateful for it,” Michigan State University Extension Master Gardening Liasion Liam Britton said. “Thanks to Eaton Community Bank and its wonderful support for local non-profits each year. Without your support our projects would surely struggle even more than they may at times.”
To learn more about each of the finalists, visit www.eaton.bank/community-strength.
Against All Odds Cat Rescue puts every dollar it receives directly toward saving cats, especially those with special needs, medical challenges or who’ve been overlooked. Their mission is to prove that every life matters and that together we can make a difference, one purr at a time.
Ferris said getting a healthy cat fixed, microchipped and vaccinated for adoption averages between $150 and $200 using low-cost vet clinics they partner with. But sick or special needs cats requiring surgeries and multiple vet visits can cost significantly more before they are ready for adoption.
“This donation is going to make a big difference in fixing and helping cats in our community in a time when it’s needed more than ever,” Ferris said. “What Eaton Community Bank does with this contest is truly amazing, and we can’t express our gratitude enough for what it does for the entire non-profit community.”
For more information on adopting, fostering, education or to donate to Against All Odds Cat Rescue, please visit www.aaocatrescue.com.
“Community is at the forefront of everything we do, and the annual Charitable Giving Campaign really embodies that principal,” Eaton Community Bank President Garrett Bensinger said. “There are so many great organizations with amazing people behind them throughout our communities, we’re just happy we can build awareness for as many like-minded organizations as possible.”
Against All Odds Cat Rescue joins previous Charitable Giving Campaign winners The EV Effect (2024), Happy Feet Pet Rescue (2023), Ken Clark’s Coat Closet & GECKO (2022), Waterloo Area Historical Society (2021) and Stockbridge Community Outreach (2020).
Eaton Community Bank has served mid-Michigan since it was chartered by two local businessmen in 1937 to help local families buy a home and provide a safe place to invest their savings. Today, Eaton provides expanded services and solutions to meet the financial needs of the diverse communities it calls home.