September 2023
NOLA Girl: Races to the Rescues!
NOLA Girl: Races to the Rescues!
My two fur babies are my best friends and help to provide to my happiness every day. I believe animals, and pets in general, make humans better, so we should only want the best for them. For this reason and many others, no-kill shelters are important. What defines a no-kill shelter? "No-kill” means saving every dog or cat in a shelter who can be saved. How is this measured? The standard measurement is a 90% save rate for animals entering a shelter. But the ultimate goal is to ensure that every shelter has the ability and resources to save every dog and cat who can be saved.
This is very difficult to do and for far too long, the burden has been placed on shelters to save the lives of the animals in their care. It is imperative that the community provide their shelters with the support they need to succeed. That is where organizations like the one we are spotlighting in this article are critical. NOLA Girl is a 501(c)(3) created in 2019 in New Orleans. They are a volunteer group whose mission is to raise money to improve the lives of animals and to foster relationships among no-kill animal rescues. The monies they raise go to help responsible no-kill rescues, pay vet bills and cover other needed expenses.
The organization was started by JoAnne Casey, who is also part of the board with her husband Dan. JoAnne spent 27 years of her professional life in the insurance business before becoming an entrepreneur. She returned to her hometown of New Orleans in 2007 after being gone for 31 years. By living in this city, she became an animal lover especially since we are a huge dog city. She started donating supplies and dog food to a couple of animal rescue organizations on a monthly basis, specifically Animal Rescue New Orleans and Zeus’ Rescues and felt that there was more work that could be done to help these worthwhile organizations.
She questioned how she could raise a more substantial amount of money to make a difference so that they can concentrate more on rescue and less on fundraising. Thus NOLA Dog Race to the rescue was created. JoAnne was not a runner, but knew that 5K races made money. So she approached Zeus’ Rescues because she knew the staff and jokingly said they would tolerate her taking up their time trying to make it work. Even though inaugural events rarely make money, they ended up with a $5,000 profit which was donated to Zeus’ Rescues. NOLA Girl Charitable Giving was formed after the initial race as a means to continue to raise money and awareness for the plight of these rescue groups which are non-profit organizations that consist of many volunteers. The second year the race raised $14,000 for both Zeus’ and ARNO.
NOLA Girl works with other organizations by donating monies they raise to animal rescue groups to be spent on vet bills and other expenses related directly to animal care. They have worked with the following rescue organizations to date: Zeus’ Rescues, ARNO, Take Paws, Trampled Rose Rescue in Ponchatoula and Looziana Basset Rescue. They also support The Inner Pup which concentrates on education and prevention. They offer pop up clinics to spay, neuter and provide heartworm prevention among other things. The goal is to grow their fundraising to add additional rescue organizations. Currently all the organizations supported are run by amazing women.
Sometimes quantifying what a non-profit does is hard, but NOLA Girl has raised over $100,000 since the first race in 2017. Since that time, the rescue organizations that they have donated to have rescued over 15,000 animals. Last year alone, their vet bills were at $1,000,000. It is easy to see the need is great and there is quite a long way to go. They are creating a great foundation on which to build. NOLA Girl is a vital conduit in getting much-needed funds to these organizations.
NOLA Girl Charitable Giving is a strictly volunteer organization at this time so all of the money we raise goes directly to animal rescue. How can people volunteer and help besides making monetary contributions? NOLA Girl has many volunteer opportunities, including: computer work, putting together goodie bags, securing items for the goodie bags, securing sponsors, packet pick up, working at the water stations at the race, securing auction items, cleaning up after the race, help with parking and more. What they need most now is for people to sign up for the race and spread the word so that it continues to grow.
This year the NOLA Dogs Race to the Rescue 5K walk/run will be on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. It’s held at Heaven’s Pets at Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery. There will be a Pet Parade at 8 a.m. followed by the race starts at 8:30 a.m. After the race, there will be a Blessing of the Pets. For liability reasons, they cannot allow any pets in the race itself, but they can participate in the Pet Parade and of course, the Blessing of the Pets, which are both sponsored by Heaven’s Pets. Zack Fradella with Fox 8 is this year’s emcee. And race participants will receive a great goodie bag with some amazing swag. There is an auction which happens after the race with Ryan Tramonte acting as auctioneer. The auction starts about a week prior so people are able to get their bids in early. All of the auction items will be out at the race for people to see and bid on. Auction items include fine art, a Le Creuset cast-iron dutch oven, restaurant gift certificates, golf outings, hotel gift certificates and a special prize of a baguette a week for a year from a local bakery. All of these items are generously donated by local businesses and individuals.
If you attend the race, you probably will have the chance to meet Daisy, JoAnne’s fur baby and spoiled best friend. She describes Daisy as a toddler. She’s almost eight years old and is the family comic. They were blessed with her presence when she was about seven months old and terrified of everything. Now she is a lovable part of the family that loves treats including healthy foods such as lettuce and avocado. She’s still afraid of garbage trucks and loud noises, but has recently begun to be less afraid of the UPS truck. She has a stubborn streak and is very set in her ways (how human of her).
In addition to the wonderful work at NOLA Girl, JoAnne owns Alice and Amelia, a gift boutique on Magazine Street. When not working, JoAnne enjoys traveling with her husband Dan, facetiming with her grandchildren and taking too many pictures of Daisy.
There is one last point JoAnne wanted to stress. It’s important for people to know that there is a dire need for help with animal rescue. The animals needing help come from a variety of sources such as kill shelters, owner surrenders, hoarding, abuse and neglect. While not any one person can fix all of this, we believe that if each person contributes a little bit and work together, we can make a difference. One of the benefits of NOLA Girl is that they can bundle small donations and turn them into larger donations that make an impact with each animal rescue organization. All of the money received goes directly to the rescues. JoAnne’s business pays for all of the administrative expenses.
For more information about NOLA Girl, go to https://nolagirl.org.
This is very difficult to do and for far too long, the burden has been placed on shelters to save the lives of the animals in their care. It is imperative that the community provide their shelters with the support they need to succeed. That is where organizations like the one we are spotlighting in this article are critical. NOLA Girl is a 501(c)(3) created in 2019 in New Orleans. They are a volunteer group whose mission is to raise money to improve the lives of animals and to foster relationships among no-kill animal rescues. The monies they raise go to help responsible no-kill rescues, pay vet bills and cover other needed expenses.
The organization was started by JoAnne Casey, who is also part of the board with her husband Dan. JoAnne spent 27 years of her professional life in the insurance business before becoming an entrepreneur. She returned to her hometown of New Orleans in 2007 after being gone for 31 years. By living in this city, she became an animal lover especially since we are a huge dog city. She started donating supplies and dog food to a couple of animal rescue organizations on a monthly basis, specifically Animal Rescue New Orleans and Zeus’ Rescues and felt that there was more work that could be done to help these worthwhile organizations.
She questioned how she could raise a more substantial amount of money to make a difference so that they can concentrate more on rescue and less on fundraising. Thus NOLA Dog Race to the rescue was created. JoAnne was not a runner, but knew that 5K races made money. So she approached Zeus’ Rescues because she knew the staff and jokingly said they would tolerate her taking up their time trying to make it work. Even though inaugural events rarely make money, they ended up with a $5,000 profit which was donated to Zeus’ Rescues. NOLA Girl Charitable Giving was formed after the initial race as a means to continue to raise money and awareness for the plight of these rescue groups which are non-profit organizations that consist of many volunteers. The second year the race raised $14,000 for both Zeus’ and ARNO.
NOLA Girl works with other organizations by donating monies they raise to animal rescue groups to be spent on vet bills and other expenses related directly to animal care. They have worked with the following rescue organizations to date: Zeus’ Rescues, ARNO, Take Paws, Trampled Rose Rescue in Ponchatoula and Looziana Basset Rescue. They also support The Inner Pup which concentrates on education and prevention. They offer pop up clinics to spay, neuter and provide heartworm prevention among other things. The goal is to grow their fundraising to add additional rescue organizations. Currently all the organizations supported are run by amazing women.
Sometimes quantifying what a non-profit does is hard, but NOLA Girl has raised over $100,000 since the first race in 2017. Since that time, the rescue organizations that they have donated to have rescued over 15,000 animals. Last year alone, their vet bills were at $1,000,000. It is easy to see the need is great and there is quite a long way to go. They are creating a great foundation on which to build. NOLA Girl is a vital conduit in getting much-needed funds to these organizations.
NOLA Girl Charitable Giving is a strictly volunteer organization at this time so all of the money we raise goes directly to animal rescue. How can people volunteer and help besides making monetary contributions? NOLA Girl has many volunteer opportunities, including: computer work, putting together goodie bags, securing items for the goodie bags, securing sponsors, packet pick up, working at the water stations at the race, securing auction items, cleaning up after the race, help with parking and more. What they need most now is for people to sign up for the race and spread the word so that it continues to grow.
This year the NOLA Dogs Race to the Rescue 5K walk/run will be on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. It’s held at Heaven’s Pets at Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery. There will be a Pet Parade at 8 a.m. followed by the race starts at 8:30 a.m. After the race, there will be a Blessing of the Pets. For liability reasons, they cannot allow any pets in the race itself, but they can participate in the Pet Parade and of course, the Blessing of the Pets, which are both sponsored by Heaven’s Pets. Zack Fradella with Fox 8 is this year’s emcee. And race participants will receive a great goodie bag with some amazing swag. There is an auction which happens after the race with Ryan Tramonte acting as auctioneer. The auction starts about a week prior so people are able to get their bids in early. All of the auction items will be out at the race for people to see and bid on. Auction items include fine art, a Le Creuset cast-iron dutch oven, restaurant gift certificates, golf outings, hotel gift certificates and a special prize of a baguette a week for a year from a local bakery. All of these items are generously donated by local businesses and individuals.
If you attend the race, you probably will have the chance to meet Daisy, JoAnne’s fur baby and spoiled best friend. She describes Daisy as a toddler. She’s almost eight years old and is the family comic. They were blessed with her presence when she was about seven months old and terrified of everything. Now she is a lovable part of the family that loves treats including healthy foods such as lettuce and avocado. She’s still afraid of garbage trucks and loud noises, but has recently begun to be less afraid of the UPS truck. She has a stubborn streak and is very set in her ways (how human of her).
In addition to the wonderful work at NOLA Girl, JoAnne owns Alice and Amelia, a gift boutique on Magazine Street. When not working, JoAnne enjoys traveling with her husband Dan, facetiming with her grandchildren and taking too many pictures of Daisy.
There is one last point JoAnne wanted to stress. It’s important for people to know that there is a dire need for help with animal rescue. The animals needing help come from a variety of sources such as kill shelters, owner surrenders, hoarding, abuse and neglect. While not any one person can fix all of this, we believe that if each person contributes a little bit and work together, we can make a difference. One of the benefits of NOLA Girl is that they can bundle small donations and turn them into larger donations that make an impact with each animal rescue organization. All of the money received goes directly to the rescues. JoAnne’s business pays for all of the administrative expenses.
For more information about NOLA Girl, go to https://nolagirl.org.
Tagged in Whisker Warriors in our Fall 2023 issue