Special thanks to St. Mary's Catholic School in Spring Lake, Michigan for their donation of over $1900 to the Humane Society of Ventura County! Each year, the staff, faculty, and students of the school choose a nonprofit to make a donation in connection to the celebration of the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, which takes place on October 4th. The feast commemorates the life of St Francis, who was born in the 12th century and is the Catholic Church's patron saint of animals and the environment.

It is also a popular day for pets to be “blessed”. In addition to the ‘Penny Drive’, the school hosted a blessing of the animals officiated by Father Dave Gross, parish priest for the church and school. This year, St. Mary's chose the HSVC for their wildfire disaster relief and rescue. “We are grateful for their consideration,” said Greg Cooper, Director of Community Outreach for the HSVC. “The funds will help us be even more prepared for additional responses to the disasters impacting the people and pets in and around our community,” Cooper continued.

Thank you to everyone at St. Mary's for supporting the HSVC!