Bath Cats and Dogs Home has teamed up with players from Bath Rugby to launch its biggest business fundraiser yet, with hopes to raise more than £20,000 in one day.
Back for its sixth year, the charity’s popular Kennel Break event on Friday 9th June will see people swap their usual place of work for the doghouse.
Locked into dog kennels at the Claverton Down-based charity and armed with mobile phones and laptops, the challenge for each is to hound their connections and use their best puppy-dog eyes to raise a minimum of £1,000 to buy their bail and release.
The business to fundraise the most on the day will be crowned Top Dog.
“We hope regional organisations and businesses will get behind this event and help Bath Cats and Dogs Home to raise much needed funds at this year’s Kennel Break” said Matt Banahan, Bath Rugby’s longest serving player.
“It’s a charity close to many of our hearts and this season, is one of the three local charities supported by the club.”
Top try scorer Matt Banahan adopted his beagle, Jasper, from the Claverton Down-based charity; fellow dog lover from the second row Matt Garvey adopted Rocky, a black labrador cross.
Last year employees from 10 businesses swapped their place of work for a kennel at Bath Cats and Dogs Home, with a total of more than £15,000 raised from the day’s work.
Zena Jones, a fundraiser for the charity says that people can sign up for the event with a colleague, to help share the fundraising task.
Money raised during Kennel Break will help to support the work of Bath Cats and Dogs Home, which is now celebrating its 80th year.
The charity is one of the biggest and busiest adoption and rehoming centres in the South West, rehoming around 1300 animals from across Bath, Somerset and Wiltshire every year.
Over the past five years this fundraising event has secured nearly £60,000 towards the £1.4 million annual running costs it needs to raise.
Organisers are hoping to beat last year’s Kennel Break fundraising total, and raise more than £20,000.
Zena added: “It’s a fun day of networking and negotiating – a chance for local business folk to meet others, and use their wit and charm to encourage colleagues, suppliers and clients to pledge money and secure their release.”
Five businesses have already signed up willing inmates for a day’s kennel working, including Steve Smitherman, business manager of Barclays Bank’s Bath branch; Steve Fox, operations director and PA Maria Merry, from the Pensions Solutions Group; Philip Kay, contracts manager from Prestige Cleaning; Jo Hindle, retail operations manager and Catia Lopes, sales assistant, from Bath Cats and Dogs Home Pet Shop.
To find out more or sign up for this year’s Kennel Break challenge, call 01225 787335, email [email protected] or visit bcdh.co.uk/kennelbreak.
Selected by Bath Rugby season ticket holders, staff, players and partners as one of its supported local charities, Bath Cats and Dogs Home benefits from a share of the fundraising on match days, support in the programmes, event visits from players and promotion through the club’s website.
