Join The Citizen And Zaazen Wellness At A Charity Event For Friendicoes

NEW DELHI: For most of us, Friendicoes needs no introduction. The animal shelter rescues and rehabilitates injured strays and abandoned pets, runs vaccination and sterilisation drives, operates an ambulance service and animal helpline, hosts a Mobile Equine Welfare Programme… the list goes on, making Friendicoes synonymous with animal wellbeing in the capital city.

A few weeks ago, when Friendicoes issued a public notice asking for help -- its appeal was met with an outpour of support. The NGO put forth what seemed like an ambitious target: Rs. 20 lakhs in a month to keep it from shutting down. This target was a quarter of Friendicoes’ outstanding dues -- a whopping Rs 82 lakhs!

The response has been overwhelming, with Friendicoes having raised more than double its target in donations. Over 46 lakhs have been raised thus far, and although this sum is enough to ensure that the shelter will not be closing its doors, it is still just over half of the outstanding sum.

Friendicoes has since reset its target at 60 lakhs, and donations are still needed to ensure that the shelter can continue providing services that have played an indispensable role in making Delhi a city where sick, abused and distressed animals stand a fighting chance.

To help Friendicoes reach its new target, The Citizen is collaborating on an event with Zaazen Wellness, a holistic wellness centre that provides a diverse range of pre and postnatal services to its clients.

Join us this Saturday, September 12, 5 30 PM, for a yoga charity event at Lodhi Garden, New Delhi -- the full proceeds from which will be donated directly to Friendicoes.

Our collaborative initiative, titled “Fetch And Stretch: A Charity Event For Friendicoes,” will collect donations of Rs. 1000 for a one hour yoga class taught by instructor Anishka Bagla, who has completed her RYT200 teacher training in Bali and taught classes in New York, Central America, the UK, and India. Additional donations are welcome and entirely at your discretion.

Jayati Sehgal, founder of Zaazen Wellness and the force behind “Fetch And Stretch” says the following about the importance of Friendicoes and the need for events that help support the shelter’s work:

“I recently visited Friendicoes, and was overwhelmed by one of the dogs that I met there. He was this super happy, three legged little guy, bouncing off the walls with energy (limbs no bar)!

I assumed he may have been taken in by Friendicoes when he got hurt, and then just stayed on there to call it home; a home he shares with countless other animals that are old, injured, abandoned and have nowhere else to go.

This reinforced for me what we all already knew: Friendicoes is really doing something right.

I know I am not alone when I say that I wish I could do a lot more to help the animals in the city. But honestly speaking, since I -- for various reasons -- cannot be running out in the middle of the night to rescue a dog that has been hit by a car, or housing a litter of homeless motherless puppies, or providing food and mediation to the innumerable number of animals that need it, the least I can do is attempt to help out an organisation that is trying its very best to do all of these things, with whatever resources they have at their disposal.

Friendicoes really is an unsung hero of our city, and I am certain that their closure would leave a massive gaping hole. I suppose there may be a slightly selfish motive here, because I, for one, will sleep a lot better at night knowing that Friendicoes is still around and secure.

The response to Fetch And Stretch has been really great, and we can see that there are a lot of people who really want to help. We would like to make the event a regular feature, and hope that our contribution, however small, will help Friendicoes get just a little bit closer to their goal.”

The details of the event are:

“Fetch And Stretch: A Charity Event For Friendicoes”
Saturday, September 12, 2015
5:30 PM
Lodhi Garden, New Delhi
Pets welcome! Please email fetchandstretch@gmail.com for more information and to reserve your spot!

 

Donations can be made at the venue or click here to be directed to our secure payment gateway.