Elena Bicker, Executive Director of Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, ARF, discusses twenty-five years of creating a world-class animal rescue facility and community. They have been rescuing thousands of cats and dogs for years, and along the way have developed a wide range of programs related to rescue, foster, advocacy, education, and community awareness.
It all started on May 7, 1990 when a stray cat wandered onto the field during an Oakland A’s baseball game. Tony La Russa – a Hall of Fame player, manager, and baseball executive – was the manager for the A’s, and he and his wife Elaine were surprised to find that there weren’t any no-kill animal shelters in the neighboring areas. That initial event was the genesis for ARF.
Elena Bicker joined staff in the late 90’s and made an immediate impact, raising over $1 million, and she never looked back. Elena’s been Executive Director for ten years, helping ARF achieve a 4-star rating as a charity from Charity Navigator, and truly creating a blueprint for other animal shelters to strive for. To loosely quote Elena Bicker from the interview, they set out to build a shelter, and ended up building a community.
Resources
- ARF’s Website – they offer a lot of programs
- Tony La Russa interview in 2014 after getting elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
- ARF’s Annual Benefit, Stars to the Rescue
Donate
- If you have the resources, consider a donation to Tony La Russa’s ARF
- Donate
Photo credit: Barbara Brady-Smith
Thanks again to Elena Bicker!
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Pawprint (or Paw Print) is a weekly podcast dedicated to animal rescue, adoption, and the heroes who make it happen. Volunteer, adopt, or foster a dog, cat, rabbit, or other wonderful pet through your local shelter, humane society, SPCA, pound, and animal control. Increase protection, welfare, and rights. http://thisispawprint.com