Local donations down, Rachael Ray to the rescue

By April Corbin

Friday, Dec. 18, 2009 | 6:30 p.m.

Trying economic times have put many charities in a Catch-22. More than ever, people are seeking assistance from non-profits because they are struggling, but the donations these charities rely on are dwindling because, well, everyone else is struggling, too.

Barbara Yumart is seeing this firsthand. The coordinator of the third-annual Santa Paws, a citywide pet-supply drive running December 1 through December 20, Yumart says that despite a hefty one-ton donation from a prominent television chef and an extended donation period, collections this year are shaping up to be less than in previous ones.

Wednesday, four days before the end of the drive, Yumart reported only one-fourth of a bay in her three-bay garage was filled. This time last year, the donations were more than triple that.

"We expected because of the recession, the rate of foreclosures, people losing their jobs, that donations would be less," she concedes.

Yumart is still scheduling pick ups from many collection points, which are set up around the Vegas Valley in places like animal hospitals, pet resorts, groomers and coffee shops. She's also awaiting delivery on a one-ton donation from Ainsworth Pet Nutrition and Rachael Ray Nutrish, a premium dog food company owned by the television chef.

All of the donations will be collected and redistributed by the Santa Paws volunteers to five Vegas-based organizations: Adopt-A-Rescue Pet, Nevada SPCA, Saint Bernard Rescue, German Shepherd Rescue Las Vegas and Noah's Animal House.

Nutrish's donation is the largest non-cash donation Santa Paws has received in its three-year existence. Yumart says she never imagined a prominent culinary figure would take interest in a small volunteer-based organization in Las Vegas after hearing about it through Twitter.

The food will go a long way.

Noah's Animal House Manager Crystal McIntosh says that bare necessities like food and cat litter are the shelter's most-needed items. She considers Santa Paws' donation drive to be a godsend for the facility, which is a part of Shade Tree, a shelter serving homeless and abused women and children.

"A lot of the times these pets are the women and children's sole resource for comfort and unconditional love," McIntosh says, explaining that many refuse to leave their abusers for fear of abandoning their pet. Noah's Animal House's ability to house those pets is often the step they need to leave an abusive situation.

"We couldn't function without donations," she says.

McIntosh knows the recession has affected people negatively. She's seen it in the changing clientele of the shelter, but she remains hopeful that people will still find the means to donate to those who need it. "We're staying afloat," she says. "People are still giving."

Yumart agrees, adding hopefully, "People could just be waiting until the last minute. Who knows?"