Animal lovers take walk to generate revenue for Humane Society needs

Community members walked with a purpose for local pets in need of a helping paw. Every year millions of animals die due to overpopulation, starvation, and medical issues in shelters. In efforts to aid this major issue, the Oshkosh Humane Society sponsors an annual “Walk for the Animals” fundraiser, including a one mile walk, live music, local businesses selling crafts, food, and drinks, and much more. 

This extraordinary event was organized by Emily Anderson, the marketing and PR manager for the Humane Society. Anderson advocates for the economic importance of events like “Walk for the Animals.” 

“This is an annual fundraiser to replenish our animal medical fund. We use that fund for vaccinations, exams, blood tests, diagnostic testing, spays and neuters, surgeries, if the animals need it," she said.  "So all of the money that we raised today goes to that fund. We hold the walk every year in September, and we rely heavily on the money we raise."

Alongside Anderson, Walk for the Animals was also organized by Humane Society employee, Sarah Stoffregen Campshure, who despite being new to this long standing event, was quick to jump in and help out. 

“I’ve been helping out with events at the Humane Society, this particular event has been going on for a while, I think almost 25 years with the shelter. This is kind of my first year organizing it. I took it off of my colleagues’ hands, who had been doing it for quite some time,” she said. 

In an attempt to draw in more attendees, the Humane Society created a more family friendly theme for this year. With tons of kids activities, Anderson feels this will skyrocket attendance and donations.

“This year’s theme is ‘make the magic happen’ and we are focusing on how the community comes together to make the magic happen by saving the lives of the pets that come through our doors every year,” she said. “We wanted to play off the magic theme, so we have magic demos, balloon animals, face painting, tattoos, and all kinds of fun activities."

The Humane Society had many local businesses volunteering their time, and Campshure expresses her gratitude for their time and energy to aid animals in need. 

“A lot of the vendors are here selling things, such as a vegan bakery, Fire Escape, raffle baskets, local craft stores, and more. All that stuff was donated to be sold here, so all of the sales get donated to the shelter,” she said. “It's really nice that we have a community that does that for us.”

Fire Escape, one of the many businesses volunteering, graciously donated their products to raise money for Oshkosh pets. The owner, Rebecca Graf, enjoys helping the Humane Society in every way possible, even when she can't physically be there to contribute. 

“This is my first time doing this event, although we do lots of these types of events. We are offering animal keychains, and a dollar of every purchase goes to the Humane Society,” Graf said. “We decided to be a part of this event because we love supporting the Humane Society, we support them every day in our store, we always have things up for donations and we also got our studio puppy from the humane society."

The fundraiser also held other pet sanctuaries beyond those of dogs and cats, one of these organizations being the Badger Land Reptile Rescue. The event coordinator, Miranda Evans, affirms the importance of informing the public of reptiles at these types of events.

“We’ve been invited to this event for quite a few years in a row, we love helping out the Humane Society, and also teaching others at events outside of the typical reptile expos, like other pet expos and school events.”

 Hill Vegan Bakery, a Wisconsin non-profit, attended “Walk for the Animals” as well, having taken part in years past. They wanted to continue the tradition of helping animals. Becky Coschel, one of the employees, has seen a massive change in popularity over the years, making this year’s fundraiser the greatest of all. 

“We are a group of friends that do vegan bake sales for Wisconsin farm sanctuaries and local animal shelters, then we donate all of the profits back. We do all the ‘Walk For Animals’ and the ‘Art For Animals’,” she said. “We’ve been coming to walk animals for about six years. I think it’s gotten bigger and better over the years, this year being probably the biggest.”

As crowds grow bigger, so do donations; each year the Humane Society sets a certain fundraising goal. Having so many supporters this year, Anderson is hopeful they will surpass that number. 

"The turnout is much higher this year, and we are hoping to raise more than we did last year,” she said. “Our goal is $60,000, and we had a generous donor come through with a $10,000 match, so I think that will propel us. With all the support that we have here, I’m hoping that we can meet that $60,000 goal."

Having raised $68,000, and exceeding their goal, the Humane Society is very appreciative of the Oshkosh community for contributing to save the animals. Campshure expresses her gratitude for all people that have donated, the Humane society would be lost without this yearly fundraiser.

"We are just so grateful to the community for coming out to support our mission to help community pets in need, the Oshkosh area has been a great supporter to us for years, we really appreciate everyone that came here and donated, it's a huge fundraiser that really helps our medical fund, so we wouldn't be able to do what we do without this event each year."

by Tenna Ruetten

Published October 7 2024

Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue I