New York, NY,
–
The
Mayor’s
Alliance for NYC’s Animals
recently announced a partnership with the
Animal
Relief Fund (ARF), the first not-for-profit organization
in the city to distribute donated pet food
to local food banks. With the help of two
New York State food banks,
Long
Island Cares, and
Food Bank
for New York City , ARF has fed
hundreds of furry, four legged little New
Yorkers. With the holiday season around the
corner, the Mayor’s Alliance wants to
bolster ARF’s success by asking
New Yorkers
to celebrate the season of giving by
donating to the program during the
holidays.
ARF was founded in November 2008 by Susan
Kaufman, a New York lawyer and pet parent.
Susan felt a need to respond to the crisis
faced by many pet-owning New Yorkers who,
because of the challenging economy, are
having trouble providing food for their
pets. “Food stamps don’t cover the costs of
pet food,” says Kaufman, “so this program
offers a solution for many families
with
pets.”
The food bank model program was launched as
an experiment with the Yorkville Common
Pantry (www.ycp.org) in Upper Manhattan,
using generous pet food donations from
“Calling All Pets,” a New York City pet food
store. At first, a few families signed up to
receive pet food, but within two months, the
number of pets grew to 40, and two months
later, more than doubled. Soon after, ARF
started delivering pet food to the West Side
Campaign Against Hunger (www.wscah.org)
and Reaching Out Community Services (
www.reachinout.org)
in Bensonhurst. Today, ARF helps to supply
pet food to hundreds of New York City pet
owners, thereby succeeding in its goal to
keep pets with their families, where they
belong, and out of the shelters.
“We want to raise awareness within the
community about the hardships faced by many
New York City pet owners and their struggle
to provide food and care for their cherished
family pets,” explains Kaufman. “By working
through the local pantry network of Food
Bank for New York City and Long Island
Cares, and by enlisting the support of
individuals and businesses throughout New
York City, we can expand the program to
include additional food pantries in the city
and the surrounding areas.”
How You Can Help:
Ø
Visit ARF’s website (www.arf-ny.org
) and make an online donation to help
purchase pet food. a. Donations may also be
made by mail to ARF Inc., P.O. Box 1530, New
York, NY 10028.
Ø
Donate dog or cat food to the program.
To find out how, contact ARF by email,
susan@arf-ny.org or by
regular mail to ARF Inc., P.O. Box 1530, New
York, NY 10028.
Ø
If you volunteer at a local food bank,
please inquire about setting up a pet food
program at your location.
**All donations are used to purchase or
transport pet food to help the pet-owning
customers at the food pantries that work
with ARF. ARF is organized and operates as a
not-for-profit corporation under Section
501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All
contributions to ARF are tax-deductible to
the extent permitted by law.
A wide range of services are available to
New York City pet owners in need of low-cost
pet care options. For information about many
of these services, visit the Mayor’s
Alliance for NYC’s Animals website
www.animalalliancenyc.org/service/help.htm
.
Here you’ll find information about Financial
Assistance and
Low-Cost options for
Veterinary Care, Low-Cost Spay/Neuter
Programs & Clinics, Low-Cost Microchipping,
Food banks that provide Pet Food, and how to
access Low-Cost Temporary Pet Boarding &
Foster Care.
About ARF:
ARF was founded in November, 2008, in
response to the crisis faced by many
pet-owning New Yorkers who are experiencing
financial difficulties. ARF’s approach is to
help people before they give
up their pets. Food stamps do not cover pet
food. ARF’s immediate goal is to make sure
that people in need have the resources to
feed their pets. We accomplish this by
distributing donated pet food to local food
banks which serve people entitled to relief
services. And in so doing, ARF achieves its
ultimate goal -
to keep pets with their
families and out of the shelters.
For more information about ARF visit
www.ARF-NY.org .
About the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals
The Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals,
Inc., founded in 2002 and powered by
Maddie’s Fund®, The Pet Rescue Foundation,
is a coalition of more than 160 animal
rescue groups and shelters that are working
with the City of New York to
end the killing of healthy and treatable
cats and dogs at NYC’s Animal Care & Control
shelters.
For more information about the Mayor’s
Alliance and its participating
organizations, please visit the Mayor’s
Alliance web site at
www.AnimalAllianceNYC.org