HSOY Fur Ball fun set for Saturday
11th annual event raises funds for nonprofit’s shelter facility
The Humane Society of Yuma is getting ready for this weekend’s 11th Annual Fur Ball: The Great Catsby, which continues a tradition which has raised more than a million dollars for the nonprofit’s shelter facility.
The event is from 6 p.m. to midnight Saturday at the Schoening Conference Center at Arizona Western College’s Yuma campus, 2020 S. Avenue 9E.
HSOY spokeswoman Lana Shapiro said 280 tickets for the night of formal dining, dancing and fundraising had been sold as of Thursday morning, but there will be room for anyone who buys a ticket at the door or on the website at www.hsoyuma.
Shapiro said the goal this year is to “raise as much money as we possibly can, we don’t really have a publicized goal for these events.”
The proceeds go toward paying the mortgage at HSOY’s shelter at 4050 S. Avenue 4 1/2 E, which was completed at the end of 2012.
“We can’t do this without the support of the community, and making sure we have a high quality shelter makes a huge difference for the animals in our care,” she said.
The 1920s-themed occasion will begin with a cocktail hour with hors d’oeurvres and music from the Yuma Jazz Quartet, a sit-down dinner with filet mignon, a silent auction, live auction with auctioneer Larry Smart, along with dancing throughout the night with live music from Groove Jones.
Artist Lia Littlewood will be working on a 6-by-6 foot, cat-themed piece during the ball which will also be auctioned off, Shapiro said.
The presenting sponsor is Pioneer RV Park, owned by local attorney John Weil, who with wife Crystin was instrumental in the capital campaign for the shelter. He was president of the HSOY Board of Directors during the initial effort, which raised about $1.6 million during the depths of the Great Recession.
Crystin Weil, current president of the HSOY Board of Directors, said the old shelter at 1st Street and Figueroa Avenue had to be replaced not only because it was far too small and a “depressing” place for potential adopters to visit, but it lacked newer technology which helps control the spread of disease among dogs and cats.
“Every year, at the Fur Ball, we celebrate moving out of that dump into our new facility. And the end result is it saves a lot of lives, which it does by increasing the adoption rate and reducing the community’s euthanasia rate,” she said.
“So it’s been just a wonderful thing, but we have to stay in it, we have to keep it and that’s what this event does. I can’t understate the importance of this event.”
Shapiro said HSOY appreciates its broad support within the community, with 35 business or individuals co-sponsoring the Fur Ball.
For more information, including a list of live auction items, visit www. hsoyuma.com or call (928) 782-1621. Tickets for participating in the $1,000 Cash Raffle only are available at the main shelter or the HSOY’s thrift store, 136 W. 32nd St. in the Big Curve shopping center.