George is a Kibble Courier for The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank. And he’s loaded up with some of the 2,000 lbs of Canidae dog food & Felidae cat food that The Pongo Fund has donated to the South Clatsop County Food Bank.
When hungry dogs and cats on the Oregon Coast need a helping hand, George is the man. Kibble on George, kibble on!
Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. thepongofund.org
Sadie. Yesterday this sweet 18 month old love bug had run out of food. An injury caused her Mom to miss some work, meaning the next paycheck was still weeks away. But Sadie was out of food now. And that’s when her Mom called The Pongo Fund. Except Sadie and her Mom were nearly 100 miles away.
The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank has provided more than 4 million meals to date, helping feed tens of thousands of animals during these toughest of times. Keeping them safe at home with their families and out of the shelters. But yesterday none of the previous 4 million meals mattered, because Sadie was hungry now.
We quickly crafted a plan to get food to Sadie. Although this is not how we typically do things, what mattered now was making sure this sweet girl had food to eat. The plan came together quickly and in a matter of hours Sadie had her food. Just like that. It’s not magic, it’s caring. And it’s one of the driving forces behind The Pongo Fund.
Yesterday it worked for Sadie and her Mom, just as it has for tens of thousands of others. Many of them outside of our home base in Portland, Oregon. Because when we get the call, we always try to help.
Saving lives. Keeping families together. Reducing shelter populations. Spay and Neuter. Emergency vet care. We are The Pongo Fund.
As Gandhi said: “You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result. “
And yesterday the results were just what we had hoped for.
Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
thepongofund.org
The Pongo Fund was featured in two separate stories in the Feb. 2, 2013 Oregonian newspaper. Thank you to writers Monique Balas and Casey Parks for highlighting the vital work we do. A very special story from reporter Casey Parks, telling about one of The Pongo Fund’s youngest donors. The dedication of nine-year-old Narissa Carthy-Dundas for helping those less fortunate is inspiring to all of us. Read the story here.
Columnist Monique Balas writes about some of the challenges lower income folks face in caring for their service animals. Thankfully The Pongo Fund is there to help. Read the story here.
Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. www.thepongofund.org
The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank provided urgently needed pet food for more than 400 people and pets on Sunday, our first pet food bank of 2013. But that was just the tip of the story.
Because the real story began several hours earlier when we arrived at our warehouse and found a line of folks already waiting. They were waiting a full four hours before we even open. And the temperature at that time was just 28 degrees.
When asked why they arrive so early and wait in the cold, one Pongo guest told us that her 12 year-old dog was her only family, and knowing she would be able to feed him kept her plenty warm. She said that for her, every day at The Pongo Fund felt like a warm, sunny day and the cold weather was a small price to pay.
We felt warmer too, just hearing her say that.
The real story continued as 30 Pongo volunteers began to arrive and prep the warehouse for the day. Volunteers that range in age from 12 – 68 years old, each one filled with love and compassion and ready to work hard for the more than 400 people and pets that we would be helping. But that’s not all.
Because in addition to those several hundred people and pets, there were 12 different food banks and pantries that also arrived to receive pet food for the hungry animals belonging to their thousands of clients. These 12 groups rely on The Pongo Fund exclusively because no one else does what we do.
Twelve groups that are just a fraction of the more than 100 food banks, pantries, shelters and rescues that have received pet food from The Pongo Fund. But that’s not all.
Several of the people waiting in line had questions about their pets, questions best answered by a veterinarian. And that’s exactly what we have most Pongo Sundays, a kind and patient veterinarian happy to talk with people about whatever they want to discuss. And yes, there’s still more.
The truth is we can go on and on and on about the work that we do. But we won’t, because it’s simply too hard to write about some of the things that happen behind the scenes. Like the emergency call we just received from an official agency in Washington, DC, alerting us to a situation that needed immediate attention.
Could we help right away, they asked? Of course, we said. And 24 hours later we had done our job and all was good.
We are proud to be The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank. We thank you for being our strongest supporters, our biggest fans. Because without you, there is no us. And by working together, maybe someday each and every hungry animal will have good food for their dinner. Safe at home and not in a shelter.
We wish you peace, love and kibble…from all of us at The Pongo Fund. thepongofund.org
The Pongo Fund has been selected as one of over 100 nonprofits in the 2012 Willamette Week Give!Guide. To learn more about the Give!Guide and gifts you can receive for donating, please click here.
The Pongo Fund is Oregon’s Pet Food Bank. We work for the day when no dog or cat goes hungry simply because their families cannot afford to keep them fed. By providing emergency pet food relief to those in honest need, we succeed in reducing shelter populations and keeping people and their pets together.
In 2009 a social worker told us the story of two small children who saw their family give up their beloved dog because they could not afford dog food; these children then feared they would be given up as well.
Since that day our volunteer-driven group has donated more than 4,000,000 meals of nutritious, high-quality pet food for some 50,000 pets belonging to 20,000+ families. Pets that are still safe at home with their families and not in shelters. We’ve even helped spay and neuter some 1,000 animals; drastically reducing shelter populations.
Because when people go hungry, their pets go hungry too. And sometimes, it’s just a simple bowl of kibble that can be the force to both keep a family together and save the lives of the animals they love.
Your donation to The Pongo Fund can help feed and save even more animals. Won’t you please do it now? Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
Remember that others are less fortunate. Not just today but everyday. Count your blessings, for you have more than most to be thankful for. And if you have a pet that loves you, rejoice and be grateful. Because you are definitely one of the luckiest ones. Wishing you a warm and meaningful Thanksgiving, from all of us at The Pongo Fund.
Sit. Stay. Eat. Live. thepongfund.org
The Pongo Fund is in the running to win up to $250,000 through the Chase Community Giving campaign. But we need your vote. And we need your friend’s vote, and their friend’s vote too. Because each and every vote could make all the difference in the world.
The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank donates pet food to families at risk of losing their pets due to financial hardship. Keeping these beloved animals from starving, suffering, ending up in shelters or being euthanized when hunger is their only enemy.
In 2009 a social worker told us the story of two small children who saw their family give up their beloved dog because they could not afford dog food; these children then feared they would be given up as well.
Since that day our volunteer-driven group has donated nearly 4,000,000 meals of nutritious, high-quality pet food for more than 50,000 pets belonging to 20,000+ families. Pets that are still safe at home with their families and not in shelters.We’ve even helped spay and neuter some 1,000 animals; drastically reducing shelter populations.
Because when people go hungry, their pets go hungry too. And sometimes, it’s just a simple bowl of kibble that can be the force to both keep a family together and save the lives of the animals they love.
Your vote for The Pongo Fund can help feed and save even more animals. Won’t you please do it now? Sit. Stay. Eat. Live.
People were lined up around the corner as The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank opened their doors this past Sunday.
Tuesday’s issue of The Oregonian features The Pongo Fund and the new Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank. Founder Larry Chusid talks about how The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank will provide eight tons of quality pet food a month.
Listen to an interview with founder Larry Chusid. Larry explains how The Pongo Fund was born out of need, and how compassion for humans and pets alike is what drives him and The Pongo Fund. The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank opens this Sunday, November 8th.