For the past month we’ve asked you to vote for our 2019 Referral Reward Program’s Yearly Award Winner. 54 groups were in the running, chosen from the groups our clients selected throughout the year. Well, the votes are in and counted now so we can officially tell you who won…
The winner of our first ever $1000 Yearly Award, our 2019 Referral Reward Yearly Winner is…
Before we tell you about the Pongo Fund and the wonderful work they do, we have a behind-the-scenes story to tell you…
Real quickly, if you’re not familiar with our Referral Reward program, it’s how we say ‘thanks’ when you refer a new client to our shop. When a new client comes in and gives your name as a referrer, we call you and make a donation (in your name) to any non-profit group you choose. We collect those names, and at the end of the year we ask our clients to vote for ONE of them to receive $1000.
Now, we do encourage a little ‘gaming’ of the system. If YOU work with a non-profit and want the Referral Rewards to fall towards your group, PLEASE tell your members and have them send new clients our way! We get the new people our company needs to prosper, they’ll get the top-of-the-line automotive service they need and deserve, and your non-profit gets a monetary boost and a little more exposure. It’s a win for everyone, and is exactly how Referral Reward is supposed to work.
We think voting coordination is fine for our big awards as well. If your favorite non-profit is on our list, it’s a prime opportunity to mobilize your members to vote! Voting for our Yearly Award (and in the past, our Quarterly Awards) is typically pretty close, with the winner winning by less than 10 votes, but that’s because no group has taken advantage of mass voting. Until this year. Until Larry Chusid of Pongo Fund.
Larry actually checked with us first to make sure this was OK, but when he found Pongo Fund was eligible for $1000 he put out the call to his people. We’d had a good voting response up to then; about 25 groups had received votes and three were tied for first with 3 votes each. It was well within the usual voting pattern. But then Larry’s call hit and everything changed. A stunning 247 people emailed to vote for Pongo Fund, blasting them to victory with the largest margin we’d ever recorded… or even imagined!
We drop big groups like the Red Cross from our big awards voting because we think $1000 matters more to smaller groups trying to fulfill their mission on a shoestring. We think the Pongo Fund has shown us this year’s award went to exactly who we’re looking for. Their mission to feed the pets of homeless people touches us all, and we’re pleased, proud, and privileged to help in any way. But the amazing way the Pongoians came together to support the cause shows us how important it is to them. Larry led a rally, yes, but he rallied the love and caring of 247 people who will be there for the mission for years to come. The $1000 will help a little for a little while, but the network of people gathered around Pongo will ensure its growth and success for years.
Our deep congratulations to Pongo Fund, our first $1000 Yearly Winner. Now, let’s hear what they’re all about…
The Pongo Fund
From the Pongo Fund website–
The Pongo Fund is Oregon’s only full-time charity fighting animal hunger. Because hungry people have hungry pets. We work tirelessly to reduce shelter populations and keep families together by providing emergency pet food assistance to those struggling to keep their own pets fed, protecting beloved family pets from the suffering, starvation, surrender, abandonment or worse, when a lack of food, but not a lack of love, is their only enemy.
Begun during the deep recession of 2009, our award winning and volunteer driven group has provided more than 15,000,000 healthy meals for 155,000 hungry pets belonging to over 60,000 families throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington. People who love their pets just like you do. People who might even be your friends and your neighbors. Proud people. People struggling to keep both themselves and their animals fed.
Because at times like that the food box filled with people food suddenly becomes pet food. The cans of tuna and carton of eggs become cat food; the package of ground beef and cans of chili become dog food. Same for the cans of macaroni and cheese, soup, oatmeal, rice, pasta and more. Food that is not a healthy diet for hungry pets. But it is food that is desperately needed for hungry people. People that continue to go hungry because feeding their pets is more important than feeding themselves. Because pets are family too.
But thanks to The Pongo Fund things have gotten a lot better in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Because with our help thousands of people with thousands of pets are still together. Thousands of beloved dogs and cats still at home and not in shelters.
And that’s because The Pongo Fund’s emergency pet food distribution network was there to help when help was needed. Help that we provided for more than 100 human focused food banks and food pantries, shelters and government agencies in 28 Oregon & Southwest Washington counties that depend on us as a trusted food and referral resource to help their own clients.
Respected groups including Oregon Food Bank, Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs, Oregon Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence, Portland Adventist Community Services, 211, Human Solutions, Meals on Wheels, Oregon Humane Society, West Columbia Gorge Humane Society, Snowcap Charities, Salvation Army, P:ear, St. Vincent dePaul, Neighborhood House, West Women and Children’s Shelter, Clackamas Women’s Services, Bradley Angle House, Rose Haven, Union Gospel Mission, Potluck in the Park, Marion-Polk Food Share, Willamette Humane Society, Curry County Animal Shelter, Kenton Women’s Village, Dignity Village, Catholic Charities, Clackamas Service Center, Estacada Food Pantry, Cannon Beach Food Pantry and many more all count on The Pongo Fund.
But maybe the best way to appreciate our work is to hear what others say.
Judy Alley, Executive Director of SnowCap Community Charities, one of Oregon’s largest food charities, said it well when she said: “We partner with many organizations to accomplish our mission, but The Pongo Fund is one of the best. They alone are seeking to assure good quality nutrition for the pets in our lives. And they enable us to provide what low income pet owners need and deserve—the ability to feed everyone around the table.”
Best Friends Animals Society is one of America’s most admired organizations. This is what they said about The Pongo Fund: “The best way to reduce shelter populations is to keep animals out of the shelters to begin with. The Pongo Fund has developed that very program. They’re doing something innovative in Portland that’s making a huge difference.”
The Pongo Fund was established in honor and memory of our dear friend Pongo, an almost 19-year-old canine gourmet who lived his years with zest and enjoyed making each and every meal a culinary adventure. The photo above is Pongo on his 18th birthday. In his memory, The Pongo Fund gives a chance to animals that might not otherwise have a chance and gives hope to families that might have little else to be hopeful for.
Larry Chusid’s Pongo Fund feeds the souls of so many families, Steve Duin in The Oregonian, Jan 2019
The Pongo Fund to relocate its Pet Food Bank to Southeast Portland, Monique Balas in The Oregonian, Aug 2012
10 Years Ago Today, Pongo Fund Website
The Pet Food Bank, Pongo Fund Website
