A local organization is using iced tea and tarot card readings to raise money that will go toward helping women, children and dogs in need of a safe place to stay.
My Sister’s Paws is an organization that works alongside local domestic violence shelter My Sister’s Place to help provide domestic abuse victims a safe home for their pets so they are able to leave their abusers.
“It’s very common for abusers to threaten and harm and kill their pets when women are leaving,” Shelley Lieberman, founder of My Sister’s Paws, said. “It’s very hard for women to leave (their abusers), and if we can remove barriers, then that is what is so gratifying in working with a program like this."
On Sunday, My Sister’s Paws will host the Fourth Annual Sweet Tea Social at the Athens Community Center to help benefit its efforts to keep pets and victims safe.
The “Southern-inspired affair” will provide food, drinks and an opportunity for attendees to show off their best hats, according to the event’s Facebook page. In addition to a tarot card reading and photo booth session, attendees will also hear from Rachel Ramirez, a speaker from the Ohio Domestic Violence Network in Columbus.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in raffles and auctions, with prizes including a weeklong stay at a Myrtle Beach condominium and a weekend in New York City at Christmas time.
The event is typically My Sister’s Paws' biggest fundraiser, earning the organization over $10,000 last year. This year, the money will go toward finishing an on-site pet shelter at My Sister’s Place domestic violence shelter, so women and children staying at the shelter will have the comfort of having their pets close by, instead of in an off-site shelter where the animals have been previously, Lieberman said.
“I hope (attendants) see how much their participation in an event like this really does help families who are in distress and worried for their pets, so they are able to move forward and leave their abusers without worrying about their pet being injured,” Lieberman said. “I want people to realize what their money is helping with and realize what a precarious situation these people are in.”
Robin Webb, who is on the planning committee for the Sweet Tea Social, became a volunteer for My Sister’s Paws two years ago after attending the event herself.
“The year I went (to the social), we listened to someone who worked for My Sister’s Place speak,” Webb said. “Just hearing from people who work with survivors helped show me the impact a service like My Sister’s Paws can have in making a difference in whether or not a woman can escape a violent situation.”
Webb worked to collect donations for the event this year and said she found people to usually be very generous toward the cause.
“People don’t always immediately identify with what is perceived as women’s causes, but almost everyone can identify with animal-related causes,” she said. “This service really does serve women and families here in Athens county. It absolutely keeps the dollars local.”
