- November 26, 2024
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For Ruth Rupprecht, helping animals comes naturally. She grew up in a home full of animals and with a mother who took in any strays they came across.
“Believe me, anything that was walking by that didn’t have a home was brought into our home,” she said. “My mom was very caring toward animals, and that spilled over to me.”
She and her 14-year-old daughter were running an animal rescue called Saffari out of their home when Rupprecht realized her efforts would be optimized if her rescue were a nonprofit organization. That way, she could apply for grant money and ask corporations for donations.
Saffari is currently a pending nonprofit organization title, and as soon as processing is completed, Rupprecht said, she will start seeking funding. She hopes to not only sustain her own shelter, but also to support the efforts of other shelters and animals rescues in the area by passing funding along to them.
"It's all about the community," she said. "We all have the same goals, so if we can support someone else, why wouldn't we?"
On Oct. 22, Rupprecht was in a car accident that left her with several broken bones. She’s currently hospitalized and undergoing surgeries, and her stay will likely be about a month.
This posed a problem because she has rescue animals at home, but community members have been taking them in for her and helping her with any work she can't accomplish from her hospital bed, she said.
“This is terrible timing,” Rupprecht said. “But we’re going to make it through because the animals need our help. They don’t have a voice to say, ‘Help me.’”
Saffari is currently planning a fundraising event for Nov. 10, and with Rupprecht in the hospital, much of the planning has been delegated to friends and partner animal organizations.
The event will include live music from 11 bands, displays of hot rod cars, food vendors and merchants, rescue pets up for adoption and more. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Saints and Sinners Pub and in the parking lot of Bruce Ross Meyer’s Destination Daytona, in Ormond Beach. Admission is free and donations are accepted.
The rescue still needs volunteers, and anyone interested in helping can contact Eileen Reeger at 931-7090 or email Rupprecht at [email protected].
"The show must go on," Rupprecht said. "The community's support has been incredible, because in the end, this is all about the animals."
