Time for a major update!

I can’t believe it has been over a year since I last updated this blog. A lot has changed in the last 18 months! The summer and fall of 2019 were very successful. I visited the Growing Roots Farmers markets in Eagleview and Downingtown and attended several major fall festivals - including the Falling Leaf Festival in Eagleview and the Fall Food and Craft Beer Festival at Highland Orchards. I also continued my work with To Love a Canine Rescue with sales at the Miles for Mutts 5K and their puppy yoga event at Stable 12 Brewery. I had a great time at all the events but nothing beats puppy yoga!! In the end, I donated almost $4,000 in 2019 to a bunch of rescues, including To Love a Canine, the Brandywine Valley SPCA, All 4 Paws and Tails of the Free. I also continued my support of Cure4Cam and childhood cancer research with a $500 donation to their Chester County TurkeyTrot. It was a great year.

2020 started off pretty quiet. In February I visited my old elementary school to talk to 3rd grade students about being agents of change in their community. And in March I was gearing up for the annual BVSPCA Walk for Paws fundraiser when COVID hit and everything shut down. In the midst of COVID and the economic downturn it was clear that our animal rescues were really going to need help. With all of the spring fundraisers and festivals cancelled, it was going to be difficult to sell dog bandanas and biscuits to raise money. So I decided to go in a new direction and sew facemasks. In April of 2020 it became clear that people really needed face masks and there was a shortage. There was also a shortage of material but as luck would have it, I was sitting on a ton of fabric that I had purchased for dog bandanas (and I just tend to hoard fabric 😂).

It took me a while experimenting to figure it out, but eventually through trial and error I came up with a face mask design that incorporates both the best technology in terms of built in filters and the fun fabric that my dog bandanas are known for. Over time I added adjustable straps and a built in nose bridge for a better fit. Since April of 2020 I’ve mostly sold just face masks, and as a result we helped a lot of people before facemasks were widely available online and in stores. Just since April I have been able to donate over $3,000 worth of food and supplies (as well as money) to the Brandywine SPCA, Tails of the Free, To Love a Canine, All4Paws, Aardvark Animal Rescue and the Treetop Kitty Cafe and Animal Rescue.

Look for another update soon! Going to try and post monthly instead of every 18 months!