Since the program’s inception in 2012, RedRover has given 138 grants totaling more than $1.5 million.
RedRover President & CEO Nicole Forsyth states, “These grants can give so many domestic violence survivors and their pets a chance for a fresh start in life, free from manipulation and abuse. We are committed to bringing more pet-friendly spaces to as many shelters as we can to ensure no one has to choose between their safety and their pet.”
Read on to hear from grant recipients about the difference this funding has made for their shelters and clients, both human and animal.
Valley Oak SPCA is extremely grateful to RedRover for helping us reach our goal of providing housing for displaced animals. We are lucky to partner with Family Services of Tulare County in this vital assistance for victims of domestic violence and their pets. This groundbreaking program is the first of its kind in California’s Central Valley. The RedRover Safe Housing grant will help us build safe, temporary housing for both cats and dogs in our new facility.
— Lydia House, Executive Director, Valley Oak SPCA
We are so grateful for RedRover’s support. With their funding we are able to purchase new dog suites to expand the number of dogs we can help each year in our domestic violence Temporary Care Program. The dog suites also provided a much needed safer, more sanitary, and less stressful environment for them then what we had previously. Their funding is truly coming at a time when it is needed more than ever. Everyone we work with at RedRover truly cares which makes for a great partnership to make an even greater impact for the people and pets that need us.
— Jodi Polanski, Founder/Executive Director, Lost Our Home Pet Rescue
RedRover has been an incredible supporter and partner to Sojourner Center and its Pet Companion Shelter program. With their support, our capacity to help domestic violence survivors and their pets will nearly double. And we will increase our capacity to help families staying at other shelters who need a place for their pets to heal. We are grateful for RedRover for ensuring that when women, children, and pets are not safe in their own home, they have Sojourner Center.
— Trevor Heffner, Pet Center Services Manager, Sojourner Center
This means breaking the barrier to the nearly 50% of domestic violence survivors, who currently stay in abusive relationships because their pets can’t go with them to a safe place. At The Spring, 40 years of stories have walked through our shelter halls. Family members left behind as their humans fled to safety with a piece of their heart missing. Those pets that have gone on before, may now be honored by our partnership with RedRover and prevent more of those stories from reoccurring. We believe in sheltering the whole family together and providing trauma-informed, faith-based services to all the feet and paws that walk through our doors!
— Shawna Howard, Case Manager, The Spring
Thanks to RedRover, we will now be able to provide immediate, emergency shelter for animals affected by domestic violence! We will no longer have to ask a victim to wait until we can line up a committed foster home for their animal- which, unfortunately, could mean life or death for that animal and that victim. We are so proud of the progress we have been able to make in the Animal Advocacy Program, and we are excited for our new partnership with RedRover!
— Elizabeth Stoverink- Stepp, Director of the Animal Advocacy Program, Oklahoma Humane Society
We are so grateful for the generous donation from RedRover for our pet shelter,” said Sharon K. Roberson, President and CEO of YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee. “We receive the heartbreaking calls to our crisis line nearly every day. Too often, victims will stay in a violent situation because their local shelter can’t take pets. They put themselves at risk and stay in order to keep their pets from being harmed. This gift will help us keep all who are members of the family fleeing abusive households safe.
— YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee
It can be extremely difficult to make the decision to leave an abusive household, and the fear of leaving a pet behind can be a barrier to someone seeking safety. We are so grateful that survivors in our community will now be able to bring their pets to our shelter with them. The comfort and security offered by a pet can make all the difference for someone experiencing the challenges of leaving their home and moving into a shelter. Thank you so much, RedRover, for making our dream a reality!
— Claudia King, Development Director, Summit Advocates
This grant means we can allow victims of domestic violence and sexual assault to bring their pets into all areas of our shelter. It quadruples our capacity for pets!! This is exciting as many victims choose to stay in abusive relationships if they can’t take their pets. THANK YOU, RedRover!!
— Linda Mattson, Executive Director, North Star Advocacy Center
The Emergency Housing Center has been made a dream come true, and will serve countless families while their housing is in transition. We all know and can relate to the fact that pets are a staple of comfort and peace, even in the best of times. When families find themselves without housing, even for themselves, being able to play a role in the security of their pet’s comfort while they focus on their needs is such a rewarding feeling. We see time and time again in reunification how much these pets are loved by their people, and truly, how much these pets love their people!
— Rebecca Warren, Executive Director, Monroe County Humane Association
