Goran ‘Tiny’ Srejic’s car challenge has returned this year with a new twist; instead of receiving a car, the last one standing will receive a cash prize of $20,000!
All the money raised will go to the Canberra Street Cat Alliance (CSA), a local organisation dedicated to looking out for the homeless cats around the capital.
CSA president, Vanessa Parton, said the organisation was the top fundraiser in the first Tiny’s Car challenge in 2020. Their treasurer Anna Reimondos took home the top prize, making a deal with the two other finalists after a gruelling 72 hours. CSA was the top fundraiser again last year; however, the pandemic meant the hands-on car competition couldn’t go ahead.
The organisation’s ultimate goal is to put themselves out of business, ensuring every cat in the capital has a loving, safe home. They know this will take some time, so they’ve broken it down into smaller, more achievable goals; a five-year fundraising campaign will assist CSA in being able to purchase their own multipurpose facility, while an immediate goal of $100,000 will enable them to rent a facility.
The team struggling to keep up with the demand for their services with more people contacting them about cats in need. In the last financial year, the organisation spent $180,000 alone on veterinarian visits for 500 cats.
“We’ve had a lot of really sick kittens with more complex illnesses; having more kittens and cats means a broader range of illnesses,” Vanessa said.
A dedicated facility means the number of homeless cats the organisation could help would be greatly increased. Currently their ‘Hilton Hotel’ is only a 6-square-foot storage facility they run their intake programs through: housing kittens and cats before they find foster or furever homes, and caring for cats which been desexed through their trap, neuter, release program.
Ideally, CSA would see all cats in homes, but they also spend their time helping cats that live on the street, feeding over 200 cats every day, and regularly checking up on colony cats.
“The cats in the colonies are happy, healthy; it’s like you were looking into a loungeroom, handlers can pick the cats up,” Vanessa said.
The organisation is completely volunteer run and all their funding comes through donations and fundraisers. The money raised through Tiny’s Car Competition will help them get much closer to their goal.
If helping homeless cats and potentially scoring 20-grand sounds up your alley, all you have to do is register online and then be one of the top 20 fundraisers.
How you raise money is up to you, there is only one rule: “It has to be legal,” Vanessa laughed.
People have until 31 August to raise money, with the top contributors heading to a currently undisclosed location on 15 September.
Once your paw is placed on the car, there will be a few rules: you cannot switch hands, sit down, or heckle any of the other competitors, while a 10-minute break will occur every three hours.
Find out more about Canberra Street Cat Alliance at canberrastreetcatalliance.org and to register for Tiny’s Car Challenge, head to mycause.com.au
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