Supporter Spotlight: Sara Dougherty
Name: Sara Dougherty
Occupation: Marketing and Product Development Consultant at Clearworks
Type of Support provided to FOJA: Fostering kittens and also fund-raising as part of running a half-marathon
Please tell us how you came to get involved with FOJA and why: I became involved with supporting ACPS and FOJA after being encouraged to do so by a few of my friends (Cathleen Murphy, Amy Ploss-Samson and Gil Samson) who were volunteering with the foster program. They knew I was an animal lover and I work from home so fostering was a good fit for me. It is hard to believe that it has been almost two years since I started volunteering!
How have you been able to provide support to FOJA? I have been fostering for almost two years. However, I recently decided to run a half-marathon to support FOJA. Which, by the way, is a little nuts since I was not a runner when I made that decision. I wanted to use the race and my training for it as an opportunity to raise money for FOJA. I decided to create a fundraising page for my race through a website called Crowdrise. It was really easy to do, since FOJA is one of the charities that you can choose to fundraise for on the site. By using Crowdrise you can turn any event or race into a way to raise money for FOJA. After getting my fundraising page all set up, I sent the link out to all of my friends and family as well as posting it on Facebook. So far I have raised over $1,000 of the $1,500 goal I set for myself. That money will go to support the FOJA Heart Care Program and the Kitten Foster Care Program. I am also happy to report that as a result of some serious training I am already up to running 11 miles. I am on my way to meeting both my fundraising goal and my running goal!
Do you have animals yourself? If so, what kind and what are their names? I have a dog and a cat. Both are rescues. Myles is a 100+ pounds sweetheart of a brown mutt and Ms. Kitty is a tortie cat with a feisty attitude. What would you say to someone looking to get involved with FOJA? FOJA does great work and supporting them and ACPS is easy. I know fostering animals might not be for everyone but it is important to remember that there are lots of other ways to help too. I know of people who have done drives at work to collect items that are needed at the shelter. Or you could run a 5K or other race and set up a Crowdrise fundraising page like I did to help fund the programs that save animals at the shelter.
What is your favorite quote/saying about pets or your pet specifically? I am not sure that I have a favorite quote or saying about pets… I have just always been an animal lover. They bring joy into my life. If I can save a furry friend so that they can bring joy into someone else’s life then I believe that puts a little more light out into this world. Which is a beautiful thing.
Do you have a company website, FB page, Twitter? If so, please list that information so that we can support your company as you have supported us! My company website is: www.clearworks.net. My fundraising page is: http://www.crowdrise.com/saradruns/fundraiser/saradougherty
Thank you, Sara, for being an awesome FOJA supporter!