As the semester is ending, many students are finishing projects and final exams, including a group of second-year business students at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology who hosted a pet carnival to fundraise for the Alberta Animal Rescue Society.
The pet carnival was held at Central Bark Doggy Day Care. The fundraiser was a major project for the soon-to-be business graduates, so it was planned out accordingly.
At the event, tickets were sold at varying price ranges for a set number of tickets at the entrance for admission into the carnival. Inside, games such as bean bag toss, and cup pong were available for guests to play. Music, and a photo booth were also included amongst the many entertaining activities in the carnival.
“All of the games were supposed to be our main event for people to come in and like we would give them tickets to play the games and then everybody gets a prize when you play a game pretty much,” said second-year business student Mackenzie Trottier.
The Alberta Animal Rescue Society is an animal welfare organization who provides many necessary services to help animals in need.
“So, our whole goal was to execute an event and raise money for a non-profit or charity organization here in Calgary,” said Trottier. “And we chose AARCS.”
The Pet Carnival raised a total of $613.08 in the few hours of operation in proceeds for the Alberta Animal Rescue Society.
“They work to get pets who have been abandoned who have been left to have adopted homes,” said second-year business student Isaac Reimer.
“And so that’s dogs, which we are mainly focusing on, but cats and other pets as well and they try to get them to different homes so that they can live happily ever after.”
Many shelters and animal welfare organizations have seen an influx in pets in need in the last few months. The pandemic has been an issue for pet owners as many are unable to care for recently adopted pets as life returns to normal.
Another major issue for animals around this time of year is the harsh weather conditions. The bitter temperatures of the cold winter put strays, and neglected pets in danger.
“So, through the money that they do raise, like any fundraiser they have, they kind of use it towards medical needs. So, they can provide hospital care, emergency care as well as just nurturing them back to health so they’re able to be with other humans and like back into that environment, if there was any past trauma or whatnot,” said Anh Nguyen, a second-year business student.
“They do provide some sort of services, so dogs are able to adapt back into like, you know, in society and stuff. So, they kind of provide a bunch of those kinds of programs and like cool stuff.”
