WEST VIRGINIA (WOAY) – A lifelong animal lover, the beloved actress Betty White worked with a number of animal welfare and conservation efforts, and she never met a creature she didn’t have a curiosity or compassion for.
With Jan. 17 being what would have been White’s 100th birthday, the Betty White Challenge was created for the occasion, to honor White’s animal compassion and to encourage everyone to “be like Betty.”
“We are just happy this is getting so much attention, we are so thankful for Betty White’s dedication to loving and raising awareness to animals that are in need,” says Kathy Gerencer, President of the New River Humane Society.
The local humane societies are seeing the impact the viral challenge is bringing with it. What typically is a slow time of year for donations at the New River Humane Society, recently they are seeing an uptick in people giving back, and at the Raleigh County Humane Society, the trend is no different.
“Now, we’re up probably around $1,000, so that’s awesome, and it lets us do a number of things, it lets us feed our animals, it lets us add to our pet pantry,” Brett Kees says. Director of the Raleigh County Humane Society.
While the shelters encourage either monetary or food and supply donations, pet adoptions, and volunteers throughout the year, Betty White and her compassion for animals is showing the world the most simple part about what it takes to care for them–giving them lots of love.
“Without even understanding or knowing it, they just exude love, and they don’t expect anything in return.”
White’s birthday may be coming to an end, but you can be like Betty and make donations to local animal shelters all year round.
The shelters are now taking kitty litter, blankets for cold weather, food, and other useful pet supplies.
You can also make monetary donations to the shelters by visiting the links below:
Raleigh County Humane SocietyÂ
