Simon Wade
BIG REDS Animal Association, based in Catral (Alicante), received “unbelievable” donations of over €5,000 after The Olive Press revealed they were in “panic mode” when funds had recently run dry.
Amazingly, a single donation of €2,000 came from a businessman, who had read about the charity’s plight.
Shiv Shanker Nair contacted the owner, Suella Winston-Campbell, with a message saying, “You do a wonderful job, by all means. I’d like to send you 2,000 euros.”
After further communication via The Olive Press, the businessman agreed to transfer the funds using PayPal.
Mr Nair is Chairman of Suez Holdings and Trustee of The Ocean Foundation, his background being in financial engineering and government advisory roles.
The Olive Press spoke with the philanthropist, and he asked: “I would request all readers to skip breakfast one day and contribute that money to the charity that does so much to alleviate the suffering of our four legged friends.”
Equally important, were the dozens of other people that sent Big Reds donations in the wake of our article, published on April 9.
In all, the charity received nearly €4,000 in the days immediately following its publication.
Ms Winston-Campbell stressed that she is grateful for every reader that helped out, whether it was sharing the article or actually donating.
The 55-year-old exclaimed: “I’m so SO thankful for every single person that helped out, whether it was a two euro donation or 2,000!”
“The extra cash has meant we can pay some bills and it’s also given us the ability to organise some fundraisers, now that hospitality can open longer in the region,“ she continued.
The added publicity also meant an amazing €900 was later raised at one function and a young lady, Katie Godolphin, in Los Alcazares (Murcia) raised €600 by doing a “sponsored massage-athon.”
The qualified therapist spoke with the Olive Press, revealing: “It was hard work and my joints were suffering the next day, but it was good fun and for a great cause.”
Charity manager, Winston-Campbell, admitted. “The kindness of complete strangers has been overwhelming, quite unbelievable.”
She concluded: “We were on the brink of giving up, but I can see the animals having a safe and secure future, now we can continue raising money.”
Big Red’s next fundraising event is at Shrumba Cocktail Bar in Cabo Roig, tomorrow May 1.
Details about the charity can be found on their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/bigredsanimals.
If readers would like to contribute directly, the PayPal email address is [email protected]
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