An important component to our business, as you may already know, is the charity aspect.  We decided from the beginning that we would donate a portion of the sale of each candle to animal charities. We allow our customers to choose an animal charity that they want to support.   Each month, we will highlight an animal charity that we have donated to, so you can get to know them better and if you are so inclined, you can check them out and donate as well.

Our local charity that is close to our heart is Orange County Animal Rescue Coalition (OC-ARC).  All of our kitties were rescued by OC-ARC and they do extraordinary work.  It was founded in 2001 and the wonderful leader of this organization is Fran, and she is truly an angel.  You can check out their website and Facebook page for more information.

There is an awesome group of volunteers who care for the cats and kittens that are awaiting adoption at PetSmart.  They not only provide love and attention for the kitties, they also take care of all of the “not so fun” or glamorous things:  refilling water and food, scooping litter boxes and keeping the area clean.  There are also adoption counselors who are there during adoption hours to help find the perfect match between cat and humans!  Adoptions are every Saturday from 12-4 at the PetSmart in Tustin at The District.  If you know anyone in the area looking for a great companion, stop by and see Fran and her team.

There is also a fantastic group of people who foster kittens (some of who also do the day to day tasks at PetSmart listed above).  I previously wrote about our experience fostering – we failed big time!  We are thankful there are loving (and stronger than we are) people who can take care of the kittens and then help them find forever homes (instead of keeping them!).  For every kitten that they are able to place, OC-ARC is able to save another one. 

They have wonderful fundraisers (we participated in a couple of them this year by donating and selling candles), a kitten shower where people donate specific items that are needed (just like a baby shower, clever, right?), and if you click on this link before you buy anything on Amazon, a portion of whatever you buy gets donated directly to OC-ARC. 

We feel like we are a “part of the family” and are so lucky to know this group.  We are reminded all of the time of why we know that our partnership with them is the right fit for our company, why we donate to them.  This is just one example:  we were at PetSmart last weekend dropping off a donation check and there were 17 kittens (I think that number is right, there were a lot!!).  When we were there it was a little slow, Fran said it might not be very busy because it was Father’s Day.  We didn’t stay too long; we didn’t want to be in their way – we wanted to make room for people looking at the kitties.  When we got home later that night we saw an update on OC-ARC’s Facebook page letting everyone know that 9 of the kittens were adopted!  How wonderful is that!?

I really can’t say enough about this wonderful group.  We just think they are so fantastic!  We’ll be spotlighting another group next month.  Is there an animal charity you are passionate about?  Would love to hear from you.  And remember, you can always designate your favorite animal charity when buying a candle!

Jamie