Betty White loved animals!
She even had her own weekly TV show, “The Pet Set,” dedicated to her celebrity friends and their pets.
Now, her love of animals will benefit North Bay critters, so much so that over $9,000 has already been raised for the local Humane Society through the Betty White Challenge.
As of this morning, $9,616 has been raised for the North Bay and District Humane Society.
“We are overwhelmed by the community’s generosity,” says executive director Liam Cullin. “On Monday, on what would have been Betty’s 100th birthday, the donations flooded in – every two minutes, another gift came in.”
See: #BettyWhiteChallenge raising money and awareness for animals
Donations will help to pay for medicine, dietary food, treatments, rehabilitation and lab work for the more than 2,000 animals the shelter sees each year.
“We rely on the generosity of the public to help animals in need,” says shelter manager Janet Bredin. “The donations we’ve received will go a long way to helping animals thrive so they can find forever homes.”
Currently, there are more than 100 animals in-care at the North Bay Humane Society.
White was a star of “The Golden Girls” and “Hot in Cleveland.”
It isn't exactly clear who started the #BettyWhiteChallenge on social media shortly after White’s death on Dec. 31. However it began, the idea — to donate $5 to a local animal rescue organization in White’s name on her birthday — quickly took off and drew support from celebrities like actors Mark Hamill and George Takei on Twitter.
Maintaining that connection with #BettyWhiteChallenge donors is the main test for animal welfare nonprofits now. Viral fundraising efforts can bring in a stream of money, but experts say donations tend to drop off quickly.
With files from Canadian Press.
