Area residents stepped up to the karaoke mic, bought raffle tickets and enjoyed libations Friday at Vann’s Bar and Grill during the Liberty Humane Shelter’s fourth annual Pouring for Paws fundraiser.
Teams tended bar for 30 minutes each, competing for tips and bragging rights. All proceeds went to the shelter. Liberty Humane Shelter President Sandra Frye said the money raised from the raffle and specialty drink purchases hasn’t been tallied yet, but the “top dog” bartenders were Jennifer Flournoy and Kenny Fussell.
“The funny thing was, I had previously asked them to do it and they thought they were going to be out of town at the time and they declined,” Frye said. “But they came in last night and they worked out great and they donated funds. In the end, it worked out great because I had a couple of groups who were not able to make it.”
Frye, who said she has counted $2,700 so far, deemed the fundraiser a success, especially given the volatile economic climate.
“It’s not bad considering I had a few people who couldn’t make it,” she said. “But then we had some folks just jump behind the counter, pour drinks and raise a couple hundred dollars in 30 minutes for us, and that was pretty cool.”
Frye said many people and businesses donated prizes for the raffle, including Farmers Natural Foods, Hinesville Day Spa, Bath and Body Works, Waffle King, Kroger, South Main Salon and many more.
“Gosh, there were so many and I don’t want to leave anyone out,” she said. “We actually had people walk in last night with stuff and say, ‘Here, raffle these off,’ and we were just taken aback. These were just private citizens who knew we were just trying to do well for the animals and they just handed us stuff. It was wonderful.”
Vann’s employee Kimberly Rutherford said she wanted to thank United Distribution for contributing to the event.
“They were the ones who donated all the T-shirts and all the cups,” she said. “The community has really come together for this. We probably had 45-50 things just donated for this so we were able to give prizes away and encourage people to buy things. These
are tough times but people
were giving a little bit.”
She said the shelter means a lot to her and the community, and the folks at Vann’s were happy to do their part to make the event fun and successful.
“It’s just a privilege to be able to be a part of this,” she said. “Knowing everybody, because we’ve been here for so long, and getting them all together is a lot of fun and on top of that raising this money, so it’s a good time. And we’re raising money for the right things.”
Frye was pleased with the restaurant’s preparations.
“I was so impressed with Vann’s; I was not stressed at all last night,” she said. “Everything went really smooth and they were very well organized so it was pretty nice. Kim really had everything set up for us. The drink specials and food specials and everything, down to the karaoke, was geared toward the shelter. It was a nice turnout. We really appreciated the support.”