Raising cash to help our cats

GEORGE NEWS - An astonishing R30 000 has been raised by a local 12-year-old to help cats in our community.

Jude Duvenhage sold unused and unwanted household items to raise money for Cat Assistance Team (Cat) Garden Route, that sterilises cats and maintains healthy, manageable colonies.

"My mom saw a sad Facebook post for a local non-profit organisation, Cat Garden Route," animal-lover Jude said.

"I think cats get the short end of the stick when it comes to rescuing – so, when we were asked to do a challenge at school, I wondered how I could help them."

Believing that one man's trash is another man's treasure, Duvenhage, a learner at Glenwood House, cleaned out his family's storage spaces. Unused and unwanted items were sold and the money started rolling in. "My mom was happy too, because our cupboards and garage were tidy," he says. "It was a win-win!"

Cash donations at a school expo day, and by friends and family, brought the total to R30 411, which was handed to Cat Garden Route's Coriza Vermeulen and its founder Rita Brock.

"This young man has made our year!" said Brock.

"We spend so much time trapping, transporting, sterilising and treating animals that it is hard to fund-raise – so this lifeline is incredible. And it lifts our hearts to see such empathy, compassion and initiative. I can't tell you what this means to us to know there is hope in the next generation. What a special young man - he did amazing work to achieve this. I am speechless."

To see the group in action, Duvenhage visited a cat colony with volunteer Ronel de Swardt.

"She feeds them every day, rain or shine, and often at her own expense," he marvelled. "I also got to meet the staff at the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) and hope to find out more about sterilising animals."