KENT COUNTY, Mich. — There's a charity challenge sweeping the country to honor beloved actress Betty White.
Days after her death, the "Betty White Challenge" went viral online, encouraging people to donate $5 to a local animal rescue or shelter Jan. 17, on what would have been Betty's 100th birthday.
Harbor Humane Society in Ottawa County said donations have already poured in, reaching nearly $2,500 so far.
Monday, they plan to hold a "Betty White Birthday Bash" in her honor as well.
"It's just a big celebration, and we're hoping to get a lot of animals homes," explained Jen Self-Aulgur, executive director at Harbor Humane Society. "We're going to have cake and festivities, and the really cool thing that we're doing in honor of Betty is we're doing adoptions by donation so people can come in and, you know, find an animal they love and make a donation in honor of Betty and then go home with an amazing animals. [sic]"
Self-Augur said the extra money coming in will help the shelter, which runs on donations, to continue to care for hundreds of animals.
"It cost us a bare minimum of about $30 per day per animal," she said. "And that includes, you know, everything people don't think about; you know, we we have a tremendous light bill that we have to run, heat and water and all those things... food, medication, staff. It's a big operation, and it's a lot of money and time to take care of all these animals and to take care of them in a manner that's, you know, humane and giving them the best life that they can while they're with us at the shelter."
Mackenzie's Animal Sanctuary is also grateful for the unexpected boost in donations.
"It's truly amazing," said Autumn Russell-Huber, general manager at Mackenzie's Animal Sanctuary."Just excited that people are supporting and bringing awareness and sharing...I think it's just an amazing tribute to [Betty White] and how this is bringing so much awareness to so many different animal welfare groups. So I think it would definitely make her proud."
The Betty White Birthday Bash is set for 12:30-7 p.m. on Jan. 17 at Harbor Humane Society. To learn more, click here.
To learn more, or to donate to Mackenzie's Animal Sanctuary, click here.
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