Introducing: Goathouse Refuge Annual Day of Giving and $25,000 Match!

Posted October 01, 2020

On September 13, 2020, our founder and chief cat in charge, Siglinda Scarpa turned 80 years old! This occasion was marked in subdued fashion given the pandemic and her recovery from major surgery. We are thankful that she is back home at the Goathouse Refuge recuperating and being surrounded by her many furry friends, both cats and dogs alike. Charlie the mixed breed dog, is especially happy with a big wagging tail.

This year has been one of many challenges faced by the Goathouse, Siglinda and all our friends and families of the many Goathouse supporters. I am sure all of us are tired of hearing it and being confronted by the challenges every day. We all hope that it will pass and the future will have us getting back to a more normal day to day existence.

So how can we take a subdued milestone birthday and make it a grand celebration? Thankfully, some generous donors gave us several ideas. We have decided to launch the Goathouse Refuge Annual Day of Giving. This day is September 13, Siglinda’s birthday. We felt there was no better day to focus on the future of the Goathouse and its needs, and to ensure the core foundation and infrastructure are in place so that the Goathouse will continue to be both a haven for cats and humans alike for years to come.

2020 is a year like no other and one that most of us have never experienced in our lifetimes. Not only have we been dealing with the challenges of the pandemic and keeping the core operations of the Goathouse and care of the cats entrusted here fed and sheltered, we have started our transition planning to allow Siglinda to step back and take care of her health. Fortunately, we have a lot of wonderful people in place to keep it running smoothly. We realize that it may seem an odd time to start a new major annual campaign for the Goathouse Refuge, but we did not want to wait. In looking forward for the future of the Goathouse and allowing Siglinda to have more time to enjoy her sculpting, pottery and cooking, as well as just enjoying time in the gardens and with her dogs, we wanted to get started now.

We know that September 13th has already passed for this year but in raising some much-needed funds for basic operations, two very generous donors agreed to match funds raised up to $25,000 to help jump start this campaign. We are humbled by their generosity and allowing us to celebrate Siglinda’s 80^th birthday! And it gets better! Recognizing the extraordinary challenges we faced, they asked that we use it to start the annual campaign with the funds raised going to general operations to ensure the Goathouse is weathering the pandemic. And yes, we have many capital and facility needs for the Goathouse. These include upgraded electrical systems for several of the buildings; heaters for several of the smaller cat cabanas; general building repairs; and some extraordinary medical needs of several older cats.

To help us maximize this general Matching Campaign, please donate today. Any amount will help us! And recognizing the stress so many of us are facing during the pandemic, please consider splitting up your donation into monthly installments via our Sustainers’ Fund. This gives us a base amount every month that we can count on. Thanks so much for your support!