Animal welfare organizations in Victoria and around the world woke up to the sound of donations pouring into their coffers on Monday, Betty White’s 100th birthday.
The late actor and comedian was a known animal lover who had advocated for animal welfare for decades. When she died on Dec. 31 at the age of 99, social media came alive with the #BettyWhiteChallenge, an online campaign encouraging her fans to donate $5 to a local animal welfare organization, charity or shelter of their choice in her honour.
Penny Stone, the founder of the Victoria Humane Society, initially thought there was something wrong with her phone Monday morning. She gets a beep every time her charity receives a donation, and on Monday, it would not quit beeping.
“It was nuts. The staff and I had heard about the challenge and we had joked ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we got $5,000?’ “ but they weren’t really expecting it, Stone said.
“Once we reached $10,000, I thought it would finally slow down. But it kept going and the only way to make the phone stop was to turn it off,” she said.
The final tally amounted to just over $42,000 — the largest sum for any fundraiser the society has ever participated in.
“I think people loved Betty White because she was so authentic and appealed to all ages. She was an amazing person and gave it her all — whether it was for acting or animals,” Stone said. “Everybody was looking forward to her celebrating her 100th birthday and, because she passed away, this became their way to memorialize her.”
Animal welfare organizations across Canada have taken to social media to share stories of the outpouring of generosity from the public.
As of Thursday, the British Columbia SPCA had received more than $410,000 from mainly private and individual donors, including more than $6,000 earmarked for the Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre in Metchosin.
“It has certainly broken our fundraising record — we have never received this much money in one day,” said Eileen Drever, spokesperson for the B.C. SPCA.
“We had actually started the campaign on Jan. 6 and collected $20,000 by Sunday. By 11 a.m. on Monday it had reached $60,000 — and it just kept going throughout the day,” Drever said. “Betty was always known for supporting animal welfare. What a way for her name to live on.”
The SPCA even designed some Betty White-themed T-shirts they hope to sell to raise money, with approval from the family.
The organization also reached out to the family’s representatives to let them know how well the fundraiser went and to assure them that the money will go to the areas of greatest need in the organization
“It’s just a pity Betty wasn’t with us to see the difference she has made,” said Drever, who has been with the organization for 42 years.
