ETOBICOKE GUARDIAN | Thursday, January 15, 2015 |
10
Make reducing
WASTE your New Year’s resolution!
Reduce | Reuse | Recycle • Make compost not garbage. Almost 50% of the waste you produce in your home is organic. Buy only what you need and feed your Green Bin the rest. • ReUseIt. This site lists over 35 agencies that are looking for donations. toronto.ca/reuseit • Be “blue” in the loo. Toilet paper rolls, toothpaste cartons and shampoo bottles all belong in recycling. Put a recycling bin in the bathroom and watch your recycling increase and garbage decrease.
toronto.ca/recycle
Space provided through a partnership between industry and Ontario municipalities to support waste diversion programs.
community
THS says Howard still first in line to take kitten home after its foster care >>>from page 1 money has not been distributed. Not until we see where that money is going could there be a crime.” Further, Kwong confirmed THS’ concern is with the Indiegogo campaign, not with Mandi Howard, the woman who rescued the kitten and brought him to Toronto Humane Society’s River Street facility for emergency veterinary treatment. “Toronto Humane Society at no point here is saying that the woman who turned in the cat is doing anything criminal. They had concerns with Indiegogo,” Kwong said. Howard rescued the tiny kitten thrown from a fastmoving vehicle as he lay straddled between the shoulder and passing lane on Hwy. 427 on Dec. 3. Vets at THS estimate the total cost of their care of the kitten they named Pedro at $1,000. Pedro is in foster care with a Toronto Humane Society veterinary assistant. He will likely be ready for adoption in about two weeks, and Howard, a hospital emergency department nurse, remains “first in line” to adopt him, society spokesperson Makyla Deleo said. “Mandi adopting Pedro and the issue of the Indiegogo campaign are two separate situations,” Deleo said. “We have made it very clear to her that once Pedro has recovered, she will be first in line to adopt him.” On Friday, THS officials held a news conference stating it had no connection to the Indiegogo campaign, and would not be accepting any donations from it. THS believes Indiegogo donors were “misled” about the intention for the funds, Deleo said. Some Indiegogo donors have contacted THS. “A number of people are asking, ‘what has happened with the funds?’” Deleo said. “‘What are the next steps?’ Some are concerned about the (media) reports of the Indiegogo situation.” The confusing cat tale centres around pledges made on Howard’s Facebook page and on the Indiegogo campaign page to donate the crowdsourced funding to Pedro’s
Courtesy photo
The online crowdfunding initiative for the rescued kitten Pedro has been the subject of controversy in recent days.
care and the Toronto Humane Society. However since, the Indiegogo administrator has stated the considerable funds remaining after Pedro’s vet bills are paid, nearly $9,000, will be donated instead to “other animal rescues and charities”. Howard’s friend Radhika Subramanyan, is listed online with her as a member of the campaign team. THS confirmed Subramanyan was the author of the email. Howard’s lawyer Camille Labchuk did not respond to The Guardian’s request for comment Tuesday about why the Indiegogo funds intended for Pedro and THS are now being redirected to other animal charities. “No money has yet been received from Indiegogo,” Labchuk said in a statement. “When the funds go through, the Toronto Humane Society is welcome to a generous donation. Any remaining funds will be donated to animal charities.” On Dec. 6, Howard’s Facebook page announced the crowdfunding campaign and pledged its funds to Pedro’s care with any remaining funds donated to THS. “The money will be used for ongoing care for him and what is not used in medical bills will be given to THS (the Toronto Humane Society) as a token of love and appreciation. Our boy is pushing thru!!! I’m so in love with his spirit!!” Howard wrote. The campaign’s goal was $2,000. Donations quickly soared to $6,000 within two days. The crowdfunding collected $9,596 by the time it ended last Monday, Jan. 5.
More than 300 people contributed to the Indiegogo campaign. However, that publicly stated intention, widely reported in the media, to provide Indiegogo donors’ funds to THS has since changed. Subramanyan, the Indiegogo administrator, sent the society an email on Dec. 16 stating it would no longer be the recipient of the crowdfunding, Deleo said. That prompted officials to call police. “Some people are saying we jumped the gun (by going to police),” Deleo said. “The reason we contacted police is because of that email we received Dec. 16 from the campaign’s administrator. It indicated funds would not be coming to the humane society. We felt people had been misled.” Deleo confirmed Subramanyan made a $1,000 donation to THS online last Friday night. Whether Toronto Humane keeps Subramanyan’s donation, or accepts any of the Indiegogo money, has yet to be decided, Deleo said Tuesday. A post on the Indiegogo page after the campaign closed Jan. 5 confirmed the bulk of the nearly $10,000 in donations will not be donated to Toronto Humane. “As the campaign greatly exceeded our original goal – our plans are to ensure that Toronto Humane Society’s expenses are fully covered and then to provide donations to other animal rescues and charities,” the Indiegogo page stated.
i
Read the full version of this story online at www.etobicokeguardian.com