Dozens of community members gathered at The Bower hotel last Wednesday to cheers to a new community partnership between PAWS and The Bower. As a part of the Kind Traveler program, one dollar per night of every guest stay goes to support PAWS of Coronado.
“We are so excited to partner with PAWS,” said Sean Murphy, general manager of The Bower. “We participate in these donations through Kind Traveler, which works with hotels and resorts in California, allowing you to funnel some of your revenue into donations to local community partners.”
In the last two years, the Kind Traveler program has raised more than $371,000 for California community and environmental nonprofits.
At the event, guests sipped on specialty cocktails including the BARK-arita and the CAT-hatten. Although the event was originally planned for the Dive Bar on the Bower rooftop, a downpour forced the event to relocate to the lobby. But that didn’t stop dozens of Coronado locals from stopping by to nibble on arancini, enjoy libations, and chat with PAWS board members and staff.
Mayor John Duncan joined in the celebration, thanking PAWS for its service to the city of Coronado.
“PAWS may be the best, not only in the San Diego region, but maybe in the state, with what they do,” said Mayor Duncan. “The community services they provide and the care for the pets is incredible.”
It’s all part of the strategic vision of PAWS: to focus on community engagement, provide superior medical care, advocate for animal welfare and to establish a sustainable financial foundation for the future.
Ultimately, PAWS wants to become a model of how a small, agile and effective animal shelter can have an outsized impact on animal welfare.
“We want to punch way above our weight,” said Greg Curtin, president of the PAWS board of directors. “And we’re already starting to do it. The board is there. The staff is there. We have the donors, the volunteers, and it’s really exciting.”
The endgame?
“We save lives, and we find forever homes for any and all animals that come into our care,” said Curtin.
That includes dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, tortoises, and even a bearded dragon named Toothless. According to Curtin, PAWS has successfully placed more than 450 animals in the last year.
According to Curtin, community partnerships are central to the PAWS vision, and the nonprofit’s leadership is working hard to make connections.
“We are partnering with the Bower, we partner with the police department, and just this week we were at an event on the amphib base,” he said. “We do school events, and we take dogs to the Coronado retirement villages. The senior citizens just love to talk and pet the dogs.”
To learn more about PAWS of Coronado, to donate, or to check out volunteer opportunities, visit the website at PAWSofCoronado.org.
