Since 1999, GreaterGood has been working to create easy ways for changemakers like you to make an impact, both in local communities and around the globe. In that time, we’ve raised more than $75 million dollars for a wide variety of charitable causes that provide aid to people, pets, and our beautiful planet.
Through shopping, daily free clicks, donations, and more, we’ve worked together to change the world one click at a time! And we can’t tell you enough how much we appreciate your support! Thank you for helping us reach this important milestone of $75 million raised for charity! Read on to learn more about one of the many ways you’ve helped us give where it matters.
Founded in 2006, Rescue Bank was initially formed to feed hungry shelter pets in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Since merging with Greater Good Charities, this life-saving program has provided over 500 million meals, millions of dollars worth of animal care supplies, and critical aid to animals across all 50 states. Much of this aid was distributed with help from GreaterGood readers, whose daily clicks, donations, and shopping have helped us raise more than $15 million for this life-saving program!
Now Rescue Bank is expanding even further to become GOODS, offering critical support to help pets and people in need. GOODS will help pets (homeless and owned), families facing economic hardships, homeless populations, veterans, domestic violence survivors, and victims of disasters –-while continuing to provide food and crucial support for shelter pets.
“The GOODS program will be really looking to help people and animals, no longer just people helping animals,” said Tara Loller, Vice President, Pet Programs for GOODS. “So, it won’t just be shelters. It won’t be just rescues. It’s food banks. It’s VA’s, it’s domestic violence shelters, and other non-profits municipal organizations that really need the help in their communities. The giving will just increase.”
GOODS, formerly Rescue Bank, helps dogs like Ziggy, a skittish pit bull mix living in a busy Chicago shelter where he was known as number 81.
“The noise, smells, and stress overwhelmed him: he couldn’t sleep, he wouldn’t accept comfort, he just couldn’t cope,” said rescuers, recalling how Ziggy grew malnourished, depressed, and completely shut down.
The frightened dog was finally rescued by Second City Canine Rescue, which placed Ziggy in foster care and–-using pet food donations provided by GOODS, formerly Rescue Bank–-began putting meat on the skinny dog’s bones.
“Rescue Bank is a godsend for Second City Canine Rescue,” said rescuers, who nursed Ziggy back to health for two months until he was adopted. “Without the regular food shipments from Rescue Bank, it is hard to imagine how we could recruit more volunteer fosters and help more dogs like Ziggy Boy.”
GOODS, formerly Rescue Bank, also helped save Ellie Grace, an emaciated mama cat rescued with her kittens from a horrible living situation. Their former owner didn’t even let Ellie Grace nurse her kittens, instead feeding them hamburger and cheerios.
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By the time Ellie Grace and her six-week-old kittens were finally rescued, the entire family was in terrible shape. “Ellie Grace was so malnourished, weighing only 5 pounds, that she had tried eating cooking oil and had the oil all throughout her fur,” said rescuers.
Although one kitten sadly died, rescuers nursed the rest of the emaciated family back to health using calorie-rich pet food and kitten formula provided by GOODS, formerly Rescue Bank. The program helped Ellie Grace and her kittens put on critical weight before they were adopted into loving homes where they’ll never go hungry again.
The GOODS Program will continue to help underfunded shelters and shelter pets while expanding to help people and animals on a much greater scale. This will be accomplished by leveraging Rescue Banks’ extensive distribution network, which includes more than 9,000 animal welfare organizations across the nation.
This vast network also provides relief during times of disasters, including Covid, when GOODS was able to distribute millions of dollars worth of products and grants to help needy shelters and shelter pets survive the pandemic.
The GOODS program works by sourcing and managing excess, re-branded, and short-dated food and supplies from donors, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, and then making those products available via qualified distributors (aka Ambassadors) to organizations in need.
GOODS Ambassadors help distribute donated food, clothing, toys, and essential supplies throughout our vast distribution network, which includes thousands of charitable partners, animal welfare organizations, food banks, VA locations, and other qualified agencies.
Of course, GreaterGood’s readers, donors, and shoppers also play a critical role in this life-saving program by helping Greater Good Charities quickly distribute food, medicine, and essential supplies to people and pets in crisis.
“Greatergood.com is incredibly important to Greater Good Charities because all of those individuals who are coming to the site, clicking, they’re part of sustaining these programs,” says Loller, the program manager. “It helps in disaster. It helps in cruelty cases, and when we’re called upon it enables us to move quicker, so we don’t need to pause and fundraise ourselves in those times as much.”
With GreaterGood’s steady support–which Loller described as “imperative”–GOODS can quickly distribute critical aid to help those in need. “For those that are visiting the site and able to participate and help, all of those clicks matter, and it adds up quickly,” she said. Thanks for helping us support this life-saving program!
Want to know more about all the ways we’re supporting causes you care about? Learn more here.
Source: The Autism Site Blog
