Thu, 16 April 2020
Animal shelters around the world rely heavily on fundraising to continue to care for the animals and Bahrain is no exception. With the outbreak of the coronavirus, all fundraising events have to be suspended, but the need for funding is still very much real. Here's where Susan Cook comes in. This part-time Voluntary Event Organiser organised a fantastic online event featuring 17 musicians, which will take place on April 18, to raise funds for BARC a no-kill shelter in the Kingdom that currently cares for nearly 400 animals.
What gave you the idea for the initiative?
I was following a similar but much larger online event called "Rock The Lockdown", which was started by a couple of British artists in Spain and is now happening weekly, and realised we could copy the idea - but add the fundraising element, with help from my musician friends.
How has the response been so far?
I know all of the 17 musicians personally and like many people their work has been stopped because of the coronavirus. So they have time on their hands, and were more than happy to participate in this event, helping us to raise funds for such a worthy cause.
As for the public - we are still trying to promote the event wherever we can. Apart from your article we have another coming out in the GDN tomorrow and have been featured by Time Out. Radio Bahrain is promoting the event three times daily and will do an interview with our wonderful patron, Sandi Thom, on Friday. Sandi is an internationally known singer/songwriter who puts her own time, energy and money into the Centre - and will also be performing in the event.
Animal shelters rely heavily on fundraising. How much are you hoping to raise through the online event?
As much as possible!
Do you know how many animals are currently at the shelter? How much does the shelter need to feed the animals and cover all expenses every month?
We have around 190 cats and 200 dogs but the number is constantly changing with all the animals we have going in or out. On average we use around 170-200 bd a day in order to feed and look after all the animals we have.
How many people are you expecting to attend the online event?
It's hard to predict since no tickets are required but judging by the numbers today we will definitely have well over 1000 by Saturday.
How can the public help make this a success?
By not only attending the event and sharing with everyone they know, but also by donating what they can. We rely entirely on donations so every Dinar counts!
Will a schedule be released that people can follow?
Yes, the final adjustments are being made today then it will be posted on the Facebook event group - which is 'Music To The Rescue - Bahrain Online Event'.
How can people donate?
You can donate using any of the following modes of payment:
PayPal - [email protected]
BenefitPay - BH02NBOB00001832000222
GoFundme - [https://www.gofundme.com/f/building-barc](https://www.gofundme.com/f/building-barc)
If you would like to joing the event group, click here https://www.facebook.com/groups/856580771421265/?ref=share