DeKalb Animal Coalition Awarded $25,000 Grant for New Shelter

The DeKalb Animal Coalition for the Humane Treatment of Animals got a nice Christmas gift last month when word came that it was being awarded a $25,000 grant from the Roger T. Moore Revocable Trust Foundation.
The grant will be put toward the new animal shelter which is under construction behind Tenneco near the county’s soon to open solid waste transfer station.
Sue Puckett Jernigan, a member of the Coalition, told WJLE that she had not even heard of the foundation until Pete Siggelko mentioned it during a coalition meeting last year. “He attended some of our meetings and he mentioned that there might be a grant available from this foundation. He said I’ll get you the ladies name and number. He did. He sent me a text and last June I called her and she told me what to do to make the application. The lady I dealt with is Belinda Leslie, a Trustee of the Foundation. I just wrote a letter outlining what our Coalition did and the need for it. I included the history of how we had come about organizing and that we were a 501c3 organization. I wrote that we were trying to garner some funds and mentioned our 99 year lease,” said Jernigan.
“In December I received a call from this lady. She told me we had been awarded the grant and I was so excited. She said it was for $25,000 and Merry Christmas. I believe that is the max that the foundation grants,” added Jernigan.
This is great news for the Coalition which is still in search of donations to help equip and furnish the new shelter before it opens. “We have enough money to complete the building but I’m not sure we’re going to have enough to equip it so we’ll have to have some fund raisers,” said Jernigan.
Mike Foster, who is also involved with the Coalition, said the building should be completed within the next six weeks. “I think the building will be finished in three weeks and then it will be ready for the interior stuff which may take another three weeks. The outside concrete pours that makes the runs were completed today (Wednesday). They finished up the central heat and air today (Wednesday). The electrical is also now ready for a rough in inspection. It’s really coming along. Of course some things like the Guillotine doors and things like that can’t be put in until it’s painted,” said Foster.
If you would like to volunteer or make a donation toward the shelter, contact Marsha Darrah, Sue Puckett Jernigan, or any member of the Coalition. Donations may be made by Pay Pal or at Post Office Box 354.