Colleagues at Coastline Housing have presented £16,806 to StreetVet and one of its celebrity partners Julia Bradbury during an outreach session taking place at Coastline’s homeless centre in Pool.
The money is the result of a year’s worth of fundraising by colleagues at the Cornish housing charity and this year they raised a record amount.
Deputy CEO Louise Beard, who was proud to help hand over the cheque, said: “This is by far the most we’ve ever raised for a charity of the year, which just goes to demonstrate the huge support colleagues have for StreetVet and the incredible work they do with the pets of people experiencing homelessness. It’s clear that we have a large number of animal lovers here at Coastline and they were incredibly enthusiastic about StreetVet and the great work they do in Cornwall.”
Coastline has worked closely with StreetVet for years and the charity holds monthly outreach sessions at Chi Winder, the purpose-built homeless centre in Pool. The sessions are always incredibly busy, with people living in the centre’s crisis accommodation, supported housing and other people rough sleeping locally bringing their animals in for check-ups and treatments.
Louise adds: “Just 10% of homeless hostels in the UK allow pets to stay with clients who are accessing crisis or supported accommodation. When we built our homeless centre, we were certain that we wanted to let people who were staying there bring their pets with them. The bonds we develop with pets are deep and they are such an important part of our lives. Experiencing homelessness is incredibly hard as it is, without the added trauma of being parted from a beloved companion.”
Colleagues at Coastline raised the funds thanks to a number of events including their big annual marathon challenge in September where teams clocked a collective 800 miles in eight hours. Across the year, they also held events such as BBQs, a quiz night, raffle, St Piran’s Day celebration and even an ‘Coastline Olympics’ event where teams of four had to take part in some fun and comical challenges.
Zoe Abbotts, Chief Executive of StreetVet, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Coastline Housing for choosing StreetVet as their Charity of the Year partner and for their tremendous efforts in raising vital funds. Coastline Housing's commitment to being a pet-inclusive organisation aligns perfectly with our mission of protecting the human-animal bond, keeping pets and their owners together wherever possible. The money raised will help us provide free veterinary care and services to the pets of those experiencing homelessness. Together, we can make a significant difference in the lives of those experiencing homelessness with their beloved pets.”
Head of Finance Zoe Field, who organised the Coastline charity marathon challenge, adds: “As a Cornish charity ourselves, we feel it is important that we do what we can to give to fellow charities operating in our area and support the great work that they do. Every year, I’m astounded by the great fundraising ideas that colleagues come up with and the super effort people put into the challenges and events we hold.”