Animal Rescue Hosts Donation Campaign For Cincinnati Veterans This Holiday Season

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – In hopes of helping out this holiday season, a Cincinnati Animal Rescue is hosting a veteran fundraiser.

HART Cincinnati volunteers are used to saving animals because they save thousands of cats and dogs every year, but this winter they launched a human-focused charity campaign called “HART Honoring Heroes”.

Through her, the organization collects donations for veterans who live at the Community Living Center in Cincinnati VA.

HART Hospitality Coordinator Katie Goodpaster described it as an inpatient facility where those who have served our country receive nursing home level care in a residential setting.

“There are 40 units, a mix of male and female veterans in this particular unit, and we’ve decided to honor them this year,” Goodpaster said. “We want to let them know that they are not forgotten and that they are loved.”

HART has launched an Amazon Wish List for them, and Goodpaster says it has collected over 100 items so far.

“What we want to do is give each of the residents their own personal gift bag,” she said. “They have a cooking group and a gardening group, and the coordinators gave us ideas for items that we could put on the wish list.”

On top of that, they accept gift cards that residents can use when visiting restaurants, and they use the mail to spread Christmas cheer.

“We’re also asking for Christmas cards,” Goodpaster said. “The coordinator said that the veterans absolutely appreciate receiving Christmas mail and cards. “

It’s something Goodpaster says they now plan to do every year as part of a larger program called “HART Helping Humans.”

“Each year we plan to select a different group or community that we are going to help with, and we will have a separate name for that under the cover of ‘HART Helping Humans’,” Goodpaster said.

For Goodpaster, it’s not only important to help animals in need, it’s also the right thing to do to keep giving forward.

“HART received a lot of support from the community and we thought it was time to give back. Without the veterans and their sacrifices, we would not be able to do the work that we have been able to do over the past 17 years, ”she said.

The deadline to donate to the reader is December 10. After that, the gift bags will be delivered to VA residents.

Goodpaster said they still need 30 neck pouches, 24 caps and 15 plastic storage baskets. Those interested in helping can donate through Amazon’s Wish List.

Holiday cards or gift cards can be mailed to Katie Goodpaster (HART) at 797 Canute Court, Maineville, Ohio 45039.

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