IndyCar drivers pushing animal shelter campaign to finish line
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA major capital campaign is underway to build a $7 million Indianapolis Animal Care Services welfare center and shelter, and some big name IndyCar drivers are adding fuel to the effort.
Arrow McLaren drivers Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, and Theo Pourchaire took part in a photo shoot this week on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis with a few shelter dogs to kick off a big push to raise the last bit of money to support the shelter.
Groundbreaking is just one month away for the new shelter which will be built on the city southeast side.
“As much as the challenges that we have at the racetrack, you take a step back and realize you know how fortunate of a position we are to be in,” Rossi said. “Doing things to help make a better environment for the animals and for the people that are helping the animals is something that I think we at Arrow McLaren take a lot of pride in.”
The area where the shelter will be built is the second highest in Marion County for stray pickups and Animal Control Room related runs.
Officials say the current shelter is outdated and plagued with overcrowding. The new shelter will triple the amount of space, add special health care suites, and improve the overall conditions for the animals and staff.
“The current animal shelter was built in about 1990,” Friends of Indy Animals Executive Director Becky Honeywell told Inside INdiana Business in October. “It was built to hold about between 140 and 160 animals. It is built on a landfill and it’s built … right by the city incinerator. So, it’s not publicly accessible. The building is falling apart. At any moment you’ll find well over 200 animals at the shelter. So unfortunately, we’re beyond capacity.”
Friends of Indy Animals is a not-for-profit that is organizing the capital campaign.
“Every donation is making a difference,” O’Ward said. “And it doesn’t matter if it’s $1, $10, $100, or $50,000, I always say everything is something. It’s great to see people helping out a community like this.”
The pets that posed with the drives are available for adoption. As part of the spinal push throughout the month of May any donation will be matched up to $20,000 by an anonymous donor.