A Central New York animal rescue is encouraging you to donate your new or gently used footwear to help save animals in need of a home. These donations will help the Friends Forever Animal Rescue, which formed about 20 years ago and is based in Pennellville in Oswego County.
Sky Zone in Syracuse is one of about two dozen locations where you can drop off your new or gently used footwear while donations will be turned into money to help the non-profit. Volunteers with Friends Forever said they're working with a group known as Funds 2 Orgs.
From now through the end of July, you can drop off footwear in donation bins at numerous locations in Onondaga and Oswego Counties. Once the drive concludes, the non-profit rescue will be given cash for the footwear which will help with everything from housing animals to vaccinations.
Friends Forever has relied on community donations for more than two decades, but the pandemic put a halt on drives like this.
"COVID hit and nobody had any idea what to do and fundraising kind of came to a halt. So, this has been an opportunity to kind of kick back up and really start to do something to help save that organization that was kind of crippled by COVID," said Friends Forever Volunteer Fundraising Coordinator Amanda Lynch.
Only new or gently used footwear is being accepted.
Friends Forever estimates it has helped more than 20,000 animals in Central and Northern New York. The rescue also assists people who may need help getting their pets spayed or neutered.
Some of the other drop-off sites where you can find bins include NBT Bank Stadium, Carm's Dog House in Cicero and Hafner's Garden Center in North Syracuse.
For a full list, you can visit the non-profit's website and Facebook page. If you'd like to donate, you can drop off footwear at one of the two dozen locations or call Amanda Lynch at 315-529-2571.
This drive will go through July 24, so you have plenty of time to drop your footwear off. Friends Forever also helps other animals, including birds, guinea pigs and rabbits.
