Zachary Tinkle Joins Race To Raise Pet Food For Critical Need
Bringing Racing For Rescues Trailer With Supplies On October 26, 2022
INDY NEIGHBORHOOD CATS TEAMS WITH FIDO TO RAISE FOOD DONATIONS TO HELP BOTH ORGANIZATIONS DURING A CRISIS FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR PETS
**MEDIA OPPORTUNITY WITH NASCAR ARCA SERIES DRIVER ZACHARY TINKLE WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26TH AT NOON**
COLLECTION BEGINS TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30TH
PET SUPPLIES PLUS LOCATIONS ALSO ACCEPTING DONATIONS
October 24, 2022 – Unprecedented times require unprecedented actions. Two organizations vital to the Indianapolis animal welfare community are teaming up to ask for donations desperately needed to help people AND pets this winter AND a local race car driver is joining in the race to raise 5000 pounds of food!
MEDIA OPPORTUNITY: NASCAR ARCA DRIVER ZACHARY TINKLE WILL BRING A TRAILER WITH SUPPLIES ON WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26TH. MEDIA IS REQUESTED AND ENCOURAGED TO JOIN TO SHOW THE PUBLIC THE URGENT NEED AND WHY TINKLE HAS JOINED IN THE RACE TO RAISE PET FOOD.
WHEN: WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26TH 12NOON-1PM
WHERE: FIDO WAREHOUSE
1505 N Sherman Drive, 46201
ADDITIONAL INFO: NASCAR ARCA Driver Zachary Tinkle of Speedway spent this past season delivering a trailer of supplies to shelters and rescues in the cities on the NASCAR ARCA Series Tour. His Racing for Rescues initiative was a partnership with Grateful Rescue and Sanctuary in Indiana to support partner animal welfare groups. When Zachary heard about this critical need, he immediately stepped up. The trailer will bring supplies to the FIDO/Indy Neighborhood Cats Winter Cat Food Drive and Zachary will be available for interviews Wednesday October 26th Noon to 1pm.
Key members from both Indy Neighborhood Cats and FIDO can be available for in person, on-site or phone interviews ANY TIME during the drive dates. Media is welcome on site during the hours of the food drive or outside these hours by request.
WHY: FIDO – Friends of Indianapolis Dogs Outside and Indy Neighborhood Cats are working jointly to address the urgent need our community has right now for cat food with a Winter Cat Food Drive to benefit the households and caretakers of Indianapolis seeking assistance feeding animals in our community. Indy Neighborhood Cats values it’s close partnership with FIDO who supports our needs to get cats fed as well as spay/neutered and vaccinated. While this cat food drive is a first of it’s kind, the partnership to support our community is ongoing between the two groups.
Each month, FIDO distributes between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds of dry cat food through monthly pet food pantry and bi-weekly warehouse open hours. Indy Neighborhood Cats volunteers join in these efforts to get pet food to those who need it most. Massive amounts of dry cat food are needed to help feed over 2,000 cats each month. These cats include house cats of our underserved clients, in addition to community cats that live outside, and are fed by caretakers, often in our most underserved neighborhoods.
A primary source of donated dry cat food has “dried up” so to speak. FIDO recently resorted to buying 5,000 pounds of cat food.
We are now hoping to “food-raise” 5,000 pounds of dry cat food or we will simply not be able to assist with the community requests creating dire situations for both the people and animals we serve.
Winter Cat Food Drive for FIDO and Indy Neighborhood Cats
Monday, October 24th through Sunday October 30th
12noon to 6:00pm Daily
LOCATIONS:
FIDO WAREHOUSE
1505 N Sherman Drive, 46201
MORE LOCATIONS ADDED!!!
Alternate drop off locations include:
Hampton Designs Studio and Shop
5515 E Washington St Suite a, Indianapolis, IN 46219
Pet Supplies Plus in Broad Ripple and Greenwood
Pet Supplies Plus Broad Ripple, 2238 E 62nd St, Indianapolis, IN, 46220
OR
Pet Supplies Plus Greenwood, 8810 S Emerson Ave, Suite 180, Greenwood, IN 46237
QUOTE: Darcie Kurtz Executive Director of FIDO and Dawn Benefiel, Executive Director of INC: With more people requesting assistance than ever before and fewer resources for us to rely on, FIDO and Indy Neighborhood Cats, are teaming up. Your support will give outside animals the addition nutrition needed to survive this winter. Most of whom would otherwise be cold and hungry without your gift. We ask the public to join us now in supporting your neighbors and helping us to continue to provide this most basic need – food.
ASSETS ATTACHED: We’ve included some highlights from previous food pantry events along with photos of some of the amazing pets and people who are counting on our organizations to continue to assist them. You can access them here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rgh3A3XABA2ugVmK7
To schedule an interview during the event OR before, please contact KJ McGlinn, kj@kjmediaco.com or 317-384-2013 or Dawn Benefiel, dawn@indyneighborhoodcats.org at 317-909-0913
ABOUT INDY NEIGHBORHOOD CATS
Indy Neighborhood Cats is a 501c3 nonprofit organization which is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Trap- Neuter-Return (TNR) is the only non-lethal three-step method to reduce the number of free roaming cats both immediately and in the long term. To put it simply, it is the gold standard. One of the cornerstones of Indianapolis is a deep-rooted responsibility for civic engagement and service. Our organization seeks to build a lasting and thriving TNR program that recruits and guides the citizens of our city to work together and manage the cat population, much like the well-known Neighborhood Watch program. Along with our TNR Program, Indy Neighborhood Cats is in the field providing ongoing colony care support such as warm winter shelters, food, Spay/Neuter resources and medical care to cats living outdoors in Indianapolis.
ABOUT FIDO
FIDO is a non-profit, animal advocacy organization formed in 2005 that works with dog owners to improve the quality of life for their outside dogs—with a focus on dogs living isolated on the end of a chain. FIDO partners with Indianapolis residents to find alternatives to continuous chaining as a method of dog containment while promoting the Indianapolis Dog Care & Treatment ordinances. Our areas of focus are the marginalized, under-served neighborhoods of Indianapolis. The citizens we meet often just need information and access to available resources to provide a more humane level of care. We offer supplies and services to residents who are interested in working with us to improve their dogs’ quality of life. FIDO partners with other organizations to provide spay/neuter assistance, which we require, for the dogs we serve. Our services are provided for free or at a nominal fee