FOLSOM, L (press release) – Galatoire’s Restaurant and the Galatoire Foundation have announced that CATNIP Foundation has been named as a grant recipient benefiting from annual fundraising auctions for highly coveted dining opportunities during the Christmas and Mardi Gras seasons. A table auction event takes place Monday, Dec. 2 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. for dining reservations on the Friday before Christmas. A percentage of funds raised by the auction will be granted to CATNIP for emergency care and other medical treatment of homeless and indigent pets who are delivered to CATNIP’s community clinic by good samaritans.
“We are so excited and proud that Galatoire’s embraced our grant proposal to seed a ‘Give Them A Chance’ fund,” said CATNIP Foundation founder and CEO Dr. Catherine Wilbert. “We constantly meet people who have rescued an animal after it was thrown from a car or discovered an unattended litter of kittens. They desperately want to help an animal get out of harm’s way, but most people can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars unexpectedly on an animal they just found. When we meet these good samaritans, we usually hear that a shelter told them the animal would almost certainly put down because there are no funds available to deliver the needed veterinary care, or they were turned away by a private veterinary practice because the costs are either unknown or just way too high.
“Galatoire’s represents to us the quintessential New Orleans experience,” Wilbert continued. “We thought the Galatoire Foundation would be an ideal partner to help us start something like social aid club for animals in need. This fund extends the New Orleans spirit of being a good neighbor to sick and injured animals who need medical attention. These are the animals most as risk for euthanasia at shelters, so access to medical care truly is the only way they have any chance for survival.”
“We are grateful to the Galatoire Foundation for giving us a way to value good neighbors as well as animals,” said Wilbert. “At CATNIP, everything we do aims to affirm the value of each individual animal. The ‘Give Them A Chance’ fund is going to save lives.”
CATNIP Foundation is based at Big Sky Ranch, a 10-acre no-kill animal shelter and sanctuary in Folsom, Louisiana. CATNIP (Care, Advocacy, and Treatment of Neglected and Indigent Pets) is an animal welfare organization with a goal of changing the ways we think and feel about living with and caring for animals. The non-profit provides valuable programs as alternatives to euthanasia to lower the number of animals entering shelters and the ones being killed there.
Each year, the Galatoire Foundation holds Christmas and Mardi Gras table auctions to assist in supporting local nonprofit organizations. Started in 2006, the Christmas and Mardi Gras table auctions have raised more than $2.2 million for local charities. Each fun and lively auction allows guests the opportunity to reserve a table on Galatoire’s famed first floor the Fridays before Christmas and Mardi Gras, which are two of the busiest days for the restaurant. Tickets for the Christmas auction are $50 per two individuals and may be purchased here.
“Two times a year 162 seats get auctioned off,” said Melvin Rodrigue, Galatoire Foundation president. “As a foundation and as a restaurant, we do our very best to make the charities timely and about things that are important in the community. We are pleased to have this year’s auctions benefit a variety of wonderful organizations that make our local community the very best it can be.”
“This year we decided to share the money raised among seven total beneficiaries,” said Rodrigue. “Each is deserving of these funds, which our loyal customers are always so gracious to bestow. We’re excited to expand our reach in the New Orleans community with the addition of the five grant recipients this year.” Past recipients of Galatoire Foundation grants include Dress for Success, Audubon Nature Institute, Liberty’s Kitchen, The Idea Village, and the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation and more. CATNIP Foundation is proud to be recognized among some of New Orleans’ most notable non-profit organizations.
