As the Friends of Parkville Animal Shelter celebrates its 25th anniversary, staff members are also excited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the shelter’s Chocolate 4 PAWS fund raiser.
Kim Shopper began volunteering at the shelter in 2010 and serves in many roles. She is a lead for a cleaning shift, she coordinates the shelter’s adoption volunteers and also volunteers for adoptions. She also does trap, neuter, return activities for the shelter, and serves as secretary on the board.
One of the shelter’s first volunteers, Natalie Sligar, came up with the idea for the Chocolate 4 PAWS fund raiser and she is still involved with the event.
Parkville Animal Shelter is volunteer-based, with 175 volunteers helping the dogs and cats.
The upcoming fund raiser will be from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 10. It will offer a variety of delicious confectionary treats, including a chocolate fountain, and an assortment of non-sweet savory treats. Many of the offerings at the event will be handmade.
Beer and wine will be available.
The event has been very popular over the last 10 years and Shopper believes it’s the perfect event to not only help animals, but also to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
“Chocolate 4 PAWS is a great date night event with food, fun and beverages, all for a valuable cause,” Shopper said. “There is something for everyone from wonderful food and beverages to games and silent auction items, raffle and gift baskets. We also take the opportunity to raise awareness about the shelter by sharing photos of dogs and cats available for adoption and highlighting our accomplishments throughout the evening.”
The raffle and silent auction items will offer something for everyone. Silent auction items include trips to Chicago and Mexico, an autographed Captain Kirk ‘Star Trek’ shirt, an autographed ‘Return of the Jedi’ poster and Chiefs memorabilia.
“We encourage attendees to order their admission and raffle tickets in advance,” Shopper said. “They save $5 per ticket when ordered ahead of time. Admission tickets are $30 ordered in advance instead of $35 at the door. Advanced raffle ticket orders means we will have them ready for attendees to pick up. We do the work!”
Friends of Parkville Animal Shelter (FOPAS) was founded by a group of concerned citizens in 1999, with four dog cages by the railroad tracks in Parkville. About a year later, the shelter moved to its current location in Parkville. The dogs are located in one building, and the cats are in a house adapted for a cat shelter. Since 1999, permanent homes have been found for 2,838 dogs and 1,624 cats.
The shelter’s primary mission is to provide care and find permanent homes for the abandoned and stray animals in the shelter’s care, primarily accomplished through the generosity of volunteers and donors. Their mission statement includes, “FOPAS believes our entire community benefits from the compassion and humanity shown in caring for animals who have been discarded. Animals cannot speak for themselves, so FOPAS speaks and acts for them.”
Shopper emphasizes that animal shelters are extremely important for communities. Shelters help reduce the population of stray animals, facilitate pet adoptions, which allows individuals and families to find loving companions, and contribute to the overall well-being of the community. Friends of Parkville Animal Shelter also provides tours for young people educating them about animals, and relies on volunteers who live in the community to care for the animals and promotes responsible pet ownership and compassion for animals. The shelter also welcomes volunteers from businesses and schools who do special projects. The shelter’s staff also believes it’s imperative that people spay and neuter their pets, and there are low-cost spay and neuter clinics available for dogs and cats.
“Financial support is always a need,” Shopper said. “We don’t receive funding from any local or state entities. In 2023, we lost the lease on our thrift store, FOPAS Fabulous Finds, so it will be impossible to replace those funds this year. Most of the shelter’s leaders also provide direct animal care, so it’s difficult to find the time to raise funds, which is so critical to the shelter’s operations.”
Shopper said the shelter is a wonderful asset to the local community as they are dedicated to Clay and Platte counties. “Unfortunately, animals are often considered disposable and left behind when people move or are allowed to continue to reproduce, which adds to an already overwhelming pet population problem. We provide shelter, food, medical care and love to animals who find themselves without a home until they find their forever homes.”
For community members who would like to help the shelter continue its mission to help stray dogs and cats survive and find homes, the best way is through financial contributions or by purchasing items from the shelter’s wish list which is available on their website, parkvilleshelter.com. There are collection bins outside both shelters where items can be left. Anyone interested in volunteering for one of many roles at the shelter can also go to their website for more information.
Shopper loves volunteering for the shelter and ensuring that homeless cats and dogs find loving homes. “Our cat shelter is unlike your typical shelter. Since we are located in a house, the environment is warm and friendly with cats located in rooms named Catopia, Purradise and Serenity, for example. The shelter has an excellent reputation in the community, and the animals are our number-one priority. We go to great lengths to provide the proper medical care, even if that means trips to the MU vet school in Columbia for a difficult case. I feel I make a difference in the lives of the animals and adopters. I can’t put a value on how it feels to give an animal a wonderful life with a person who adores that dog or cat. Both the animals and the people benefit.
For more information about Chocolate 4 PAWS and other events, go to the shelter’s website, which is also a showcase for adopting the dogs and cats at FOPAS