Support local pets in need

RSPCA Bedforshire North Branch Ways to support local pets in need

As we enter a new year, especially one of uncertainty as we are facing, as a Branch we want to help where we can during the cost of living crisis. In January last year we started a veterinary help scheme where we would support pet owners facing financial difficulty by paying towards emergency and unexpected vet bills. Throughout the year requests for help of this nature increased significantly, especially as the cost of living was becoming more of an issue, with September alone accounting for over a third of our annual contributions. In 2023 with the country’s economic state potentially set to worsen, we want to ensure we are still able to offer this lifeline to people who need it most. Contributing to urgent vet bills alleviates animal suffering, ensuring pets receive urgent treatment they need; keeps much loved pets in family homes; and in turn prevents ever increasing pet neglect and abandonment. We are a small Branch covering the area of North Bedfordshire who work under the umbrella of the National RSPCA, therefore are run by a small team and almost entirely self funded, so we largely rely on our supporters to continue schemes such as this. There are many ways to donate to our Branch, the easiest is to donate to our charity shop. The majority of our funding comes from our charity shop located in Bedford Bus Station and although we are very lucky with our donations, we are always in need of more donated goods. The shop accepts anything from unwanted clothes, shoes, handbags, books DVDs, CDs and toys to household goods, bric-a-brac and even electricals. With Christmas now over and one with, if you have any unwanted gifts or having a new year’s clear out – the shop would be extremely grateful for any donated goods. If you are unsure of anything or have any queries, please give the shop a call on 01234 930304. Another easy way to support our cause is by popping into Biggleswade ASDA throughout January, as we are part of their green token scheme. We will receive a sum of money for coming first second or third in green token votes, which is funding that will go straight towards our veterinary help scheme. We are also part of the same token scheme throughout the Bedford Tesco stores from January until March this year. Our Branch is also an Amazon Smile charity. This means if Amazon shoppers change their settings to Amazon Smile, when they spend Amazon donates a small percentage to the charity of their choice. A very easy way to fundraise, and you can search for us by our name or charity number – RSPCA Bedfordshire North Branch / 202037. We are always so appreciative of any fundraising support we receive, as its means we can help more animals in our area, stopping any animal from suffering needlessly. For more information or any questions about fundraising, our veterinary help scheme or anything else, please email us info@rspcabedfordshirenorth.org.uk or phone 01234 266965.