HOLLAND — A local animal rescue has been awarded a grant from Walmart Giving, intended to help fund the opening of a small, free-roam cat adoption facility in West Michigan.
Tyson’s Place is a small, volunteer-run nonprofit along the lakeshore that helps terminally ill individuals in finding new families for their pets. That includes owners going into assisted living, nursing homes, hospice and after the owner has passed away.
Most of the animals taken in are older, and the organization depends on volunteers to temporarily house the animals until they’ve been adopted.
Founder Jill Bannink-Albrecht said there weren’t enough volunteer foster homes to keep up, especially for cats. Monthly, the organization receives dozens of requests to take in cats that meet their mission, and there’s no space to spare. A free-roam cat facility would allow the nonprofit to help more pet owners and animals in need.
Tyson’s Place is currently seeking a space to lease and is funding for the facility, with a goal of $20,000.
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“We are so grateful that Walmart Giving recognized that we are providing a human service,” Bannink-Albrecht wrote in a statement. “We are working to give dying people the peace of mind that their beloved animals will have a happy, healthy life. We have seen owners who can’t pass away until they know their animals are settled.”
Learn more at tysonsplacerescue.org.
— Contact editor Cassandra Lybrink at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @CassLybrink.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland animal rescue earns a Walmart grant to help with new facility