Cat Video Fest Raises Money for Local Animal Sanctuary

posted March 18, 2019 in CommRadio, News by Rachel Darata

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Cat lovers and shelter volunteers alike came together for the Cat Video Fest in the State Theatre Wednesday. Hope’s Dream Rescue and Sanctuary, a local nonprofit who treats and takes in stray cats, hosted the event.

The night kicked off with visits from the sanctuary’s own furry friends, information about the organization, and rounds of kitty litter sangria. Later, guests tuned in for the actual video festival, which featured everything from cats scaring a bear up a tree, to the beginning of new feline friendships.

Penn State student Bailey Robey said events like Cat Video Fest help to shed light on the stray cats issue.

“I think it brought [together] a lot of community members and college students,” Robey said. “It made them more aware, because I’ve never even heard of this sanctuary before and some of the videos had really good messages about like spraying and neutering and like taking better care of animals.”

The festival was also a chance to raise awareness about both stray and domestic cats.

Lesa King, president of Hope’s Sanctuary, said their mission entails more than rescuing and finding homes for animals.

“That’s what we want to do, we want to help people, even if it’s not being able to take a cat in, we want to educate them,” King said. “We want to teach them about [humane ways to control stray cat populations], we want to teach them that there’s help out there to get their own animals vetted and altered if need be.”

The sanctuary fundraises to supply medical care, food, and other essentials for the cats. The $2 cost of each ticket went to fund Hope’s Dream Rescue and Sanctuary.

 

 

Rachel Darata is a freshman studying telecommunications. To contact her, email rjd5743@psu.edu.