Indie Boho– Supporting Our Local Animal Refuge SCARS
Sunshine Coast Animal Refuge
Since we first started our business, Indie Boho has generously donated to the RSPCA, Guide Dogs and to various smaller rescue groups and fundraising events. Yet it was only when we relocated to the Sunshine Coast, that we immediately became aware of one charity that was known to everyone in the local area- SCARS. The Sunshine Coast Animal Refuge, also known as SCARS immediately struck a chord with us when we visited their shelter. Naturally, seeing the animals moved us deeply, but the positivity of the volunteers, their passion and their focused mission was unlike anything we’d encountered before. We are so proud to have an animal refuge of this scale in our local community and we immediately wanted to support them as much as we could.
SCARS 40 Years
SCARS has been operating since 1979 – that’s 40 years this year! The shelter is well known and has made an incredible impact on our community. It’s safe to say, there isn’t anyone at the Sunshine Coast who hasn’t heard of, adopted or volunteered at SCARS. They operate on a 1.08 hectare site at Sippy Creek, adjacent to the pound which is where most of their animals come from.
As a not-for-profit charitable organisation SCARS does not receive any government funding; instead they rely heavily on the local community and businesses to support them.
“In 40 years, we have rescued and re-homed over 40,000 cats and dogs, a few goats, snakes and birds along the way.”
Penny Brischke, President SCARS and Marketing Manager (volunteer)
SCARS hold about 80-100 animals at any time with most at the refuge and some through their foster program. The animals come from the local pound as unclaimed pets and also as private surrenders from our community when they sadly can’t keep their pets any longer.
The SCARS Mission
All cats and dogs saved by SCARS undergo a full vet checkup, are vaccinated, wormed, microchipped and treated if necessary. As part of advocating responsible pet ownership, all cats and dogs are desexed prior to adoption. On average, the shelter welcomes and re-homes up to 1000 animals each year; that’s 20 animals each week! An extraordinary effort for a charity run almost entirely by volunteers (with the exception of some administrative and veterinary staff). In fact, there are around 220 volunteers that help with direct animal care each week, to give these dogs and cats the best stay possible while they’re at the shelter.
“No animal is too young or old, too big or small or too sick to be given a chance at SCARS.” Penny Brischke
The volunteers run a comprehensive adoption process to ensure each animal finds their perfect forever-home. If you are looking for a fur-baby to join your family, the SCARS 100+ Club is where to start. The cats and dogs in the club have been waiting for 100 days or more for their perfect match.
In Need of Extra Help
SCARS plans to renovate their building next year and are in need of generous donations from individuals and from businesses to achieve this goal. The renovations will improve the well-being of the animals by having enclosures that mimic a home environment. We can all imagine what 50 excited dogs sound like when they want to be the ones being adopted that day! Therefore the new buildings will be more sound proof and have a viewing window that will help to keep the dogs calm with less disruptions from visitors.
Our Involvement with SCARS
Since our first visit to SCARS three months ago, we have enabled the charity to raise over $2000 through our products and we hope to increase these donations as our business grows each month. Indie Boho also raised $255 through a national awareness campaign and matched this to donate a total of $510 to SCARS in September 2019. We did this with the help of talented photographer Allira Batstone and had an incredible experience doing so.
Indie Boho supported SCARS at the GATHERED Seasonal Artisan Market @gathered_buderim, @cafeviebuderim in September. The event was a huge success and raised a total of $2055 for the charity. And to top things off, the three dogs from the refuge that came to the event for a "meet and greet"- Abbie, Cricket and Honey- were all adopted within 2 days after the event!
Connect with SCARS on Facebook
Animal photo credit: Allira Batstone
