North Stafford, Va. — Those who eat at Chili’s in at Stafford Marketplace today can help donate to a good cause.
The Stafford County SPCA will hold a “spirit night fundraiser” from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the North Stafford eatery where 20 percent of all sales for the day will be donated to the organization – the county’s first and only no-kill animal shelter.
Staff from the shelter will be there between 6 and 9 p.m. to meet diners and answer questions about the shelter and adopting animals, said shelter spokeswoman Lori O’Pry. Diners must bring a special coupon with them (below) to the restaurant in order for the proceeds to benefit the shelter.
The fundraiser is the third in a series of recent events to promote the center, which has offices on U.S. 1 in Stafford and a separate facility to house animals off Andrew Chapel Road in the Brooke area.
The organization has had its ups and downs in the past few weeks while trying to promote the center.
On Nov. 20, the center advertised a special event where animal owners could bring their pets to Spotsylvania Mall to get a photo with Santa. The event was abruptly canceled after the mall said the SPCA did not have enough insurance coverage any animal-related incidents that could occur.
“There was a lack of communication between us and the mall. We were going through our sources and finding there weren’t many options to cover us as a shelter, but mall staff didn’t let us know that they have a specific company that could have written us a one day binder at excellent rates for the coverage needed. Now that we know about the insurance company they ‘usually’ refer vendors and groups to, we’ll be able to use them, said O’Pry in an email.
The shelter this month did hold a successful adoption event at Sears in Stafford Marketplace, and organizers say they have another pet photo event planned in December.
