Day 19: Blown Away In Kleinmond

Special Report: Jaxx’s Fundraising Story

Hey Husky Lovers! This is Des (aka The Fossil) writing todays post because Jaxx is sulking. Why? Because I told him yesterday that we’re going to walk along the beach today, and maybe along some hiking trails in the Hottentots-Holland mountain range behind the cottage. However, last night the wind picked up to gale-force speeds and this morning we woke up to strong wind and rain. “If we walk the beach today,” I told Jaxx, “We’ll be sandblasted!”. So, I cancelled todays walk and decided to catch up on his Walk 4 SOS Huskies admin.

And that’s why I’m writing his blog today. To appeal to anyone reading this post to assist Jaxx in attaining his crowdfunding target. After 19 days (21 days if counting the trip from Joburg to Plett) Jaxx has received 15 donations (10 via the Quicket fundraising platform and 5 in cash & bank EFTs) totalling R3,555. Expenses for the journey so far (fuel, food & beverages) come to R9,285. This means that Jaxx’s campaign is running at a loss of -R5,729.

Of course, we have been fortunate to have received in-kind sponsorships to the value of R21,096 so far. These have been in the form of grooming and a comfortable leash harness for Jaxx plus magnetic signs for the car and hosted accommodation from 10 pet-friendly establishments (see our sponsor logo’s displayed on the blog homepage). We even had two restaurants in Hermanus sponsor a meal (Cafe Blu – complimentary from Hermanus Tourism & Dutchies Beachside Diner in Grotto Beach).

In addition, Mahindra South Africa are sponsoring the PIKUP S11 Karoo 4×4 Double Cab that we’re using. If we’d had to hire a 4×4, that would have added around R49,600 in costs for this journey (and a total loss of R76,425 to Jaxx’s campaign if we didn’t have these in-kind sponsors). In addition, Mahindra are sponsoring fuel up to 4000km, so that will also help to reduce Jaxx’s campaign expenses.

Getting back to Jaxx’s crowdfunding target, I initially set this at R500,000. However, those who know more about fundraising than I do, say that setting a target too high discourages donors as it seems unobtainable. So, I’ve lowered the target by half; to R250,000 (at least the Quicket fundraising barometer now shows that 1% of the target has been raised).

What does Saviors Of Siberians (SOS Huskies) need the funding for? Since May 2020, SOS Huskies – a Cape Town based rescue organisation founded by DelRay Nortier, has rescued and re-homed 55 Huskies (of which 15% were surrendered and 85% abandoned) at an average cost of R3,712 per rescue. And, as the only Husky rescue specialist in the Cape, the number of surrender/rescue requests are increased dramatically. SOS urgently needs to buy land to establish a Husky Haven with spacious fenced enclosures and suitable Husky-huts for temporary shelter until adoptive homes can be found.

Even if Jaxx attains his fundraising target, it’s not going to go far in attaining the above goal. But it will alleviate SOS Huskies immediate financial burden and it’s a start in the direction of a Husky Haven (I have another plan brewing to turn that dream into reality, but that’s another story).

So, why is Jaxx’s fundraising effort not performing well? Well, there’s several reasons that I can think of:

Firstly, fundraising for animal welfare has become increasingly difficult since the COVID-19 pandemic crisis began in 2020. Donors are scarce primarily due to lower discretionary income as more people become unemployed or contend with salaries cuts. And these financial difficulties invariably translate to neglect or abandonment of domestic pets. However, without funding, animal welfare organisations cannot perform their essential rescue services.

Secondly, we’re not getting the mass media exposure that we’d hoped for. Radio Algoa FM simply don’t respond to their website ‘Contact Us’ page enquires while Primedia, who own the 94.7, 702, kfm94.5, and CapeTalk radio stations, responded to my emails with “(our) show was already fully booked for the week, so I’m sorry we weren’t able to find even a short gap to squeeze this in.”

However, we have been fortunate to receive some local media exposure. Journalist Blake Linder from the Knysna-Plett Herald newspaper was the first to pick up Jaxx’s story with an article titled ‘800km Walk For Charity‘.

The Village News in Hermanus published an article. Read the digital edition here.

And Rose Bilbrough, know locally as “Travelbug Rose Blogger“, came to meet us and did a video interview.

Of course, social media is far easier to gain exposure. So please share Jaxx’s story on your own social platforms. Sharing is caring :-).

And that, in a long-winded nutshell, is why Jaxx and I are doing this Walk 4 SOS Huskies fundraising journey.

Oh, and Jaxx did get to walk today. When the sun peeked out briefly around midday we took a stroll along a boardwalk in Kleinmond (Huskies get frustrated if they don’t get exercise – and it’s good for us humans too :-).

BTW: if you happen to be in or near near Cape Town on Sunday 29 August 2021, why not join us? We’ll be walking the final leg of my journey from Hout Bay to Mouile Point at the V&A Waterfront. So, join us! Come say “Howzit Husky Boy!”

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