Grand Rapids Pitbull Alliance

28/01/2025

We're thrilled to share the impact of our first 2025 pet food distribution at First Congregational UCC Lowell! This Saturday, we served:

Families Helped: 66
Pets Supported:
• 130 dogs
• 137 cats

Resources Distributed:
• 1,513 lbs of pet food
• 97 cans of pet food
• 105 packages of treats
• 62 toys

Special thanks to everyone who donated cat food when we put the call out because we were so low!

NEXT DISTRIBUTION:

February 22nd, 2025
Location: First Congregational UCC of Lowell
865 Lincoln Lake Ave SE, Lowell, MI 49331
Time: 9:00 - 11:00 AM (or until supplies run out)

Important Guidelines:
1. Drive-through service only - please remain in your vehicle
2. First come, first served
3. Assistance is supplemental for family pets only (NOT available for rescue organizations, fosters, breeders, adoptable pets or breeding purposes)
4. Volunteers will load supplies into your vehicle

Additional Services:
• If you need other pet-related resources or assistance, provide your contact information and specific needs to our volunteers. We will follow up within 5-7 days. WE HAVE SOME OPENINGS FOR FREE CANINE SPAY AND NEUTER! If you have intact pets please provide volunteers with your contact information to follow up on these Spring Spay/Neuter clinics.
• We have received some emails from individuals who have attended in the past seeking assistance with resources for "accidental" litters. Do you have intact pets? We can help with free spay and neuter resources. Don't have a accident contact us!
• To donate supplies, please inform volunteers upon arrival for drop-off instructions.

Questions? Email: [email protected]

[Note: We are including a calendar for the year of the GRPBA Mobile Pet Food Bank Distributions in Lowell. Dates subject to change - follow our social media for updates.]

27/01/2025

Friends when making a donation via Venmo to Grand Rapids Pitbull Alliance There are things to know to know you are on our official Venmo account.

#1 This is a charity account registered with Venmo it will indicate that this is a charity account.

#2 Our account WILL NOT SAY PAY, it will say DONATE because it is a charity account

#3 Look closely at our name, there are no dashes, there are no periods, there are no commas.

#4 Take close look at the landing page. We have a lot of information there in regarding our organization, not just a photo of our logo. We will have no friends associated with our account.

Sadly after doing more inspection of what's going on we've learned that this person is also receiving funds from another fake account called "Michigan Urgent Cats"

This is infuriating as our trusted supporters are trying to help and someone has come in to scam them. This is also time consuming to address and not easy to resolve a you can imagine it's quite a process to have addressed with Venmo.

We have a group of volunteers right now working on this, some of who are at work and myself I was supposed to be at the Animal Shelter a hour ago to get Dante for a much needed field trip. We should not have to deal with this kind of garbage!

Screenshot is if the official GRPBA CHARITY VENMO ACCOUNT

27/01/2025

Friends we have just been alerted of a Fake Venmo account!!!

Note the difference

*Our Legitimate Charity Venmo Account has no dashes in the name.

This sucks some loser who can handle working a real job who wants to steal from non profits and dogs on the verge of dying.

The Fake Venmo account paid out immediately to a

Dana Reynolds

Other names associated and made payouts today are:

*Mike Diienno
*Jonathon Caesar
*Greg Beckhart

We understand these very well at fake names since scam artist will do anything to make a buck without having to work.

Until we figure out how to address this please don't use Venmo to make a donation.

24/01/2025

Update on Grand Rapids Pit Bull Alliance's Big Move!

While we had hoped to begin our move in January, our timeline has shifted to February 1st. Our supportive landlord attempted to expedite the process, but logistics required some adjustment.

Our moving process will begin on February 1st, starting with a intensive top-to-bottom deep clean. We'll begin moving furniture and potentially painting some areas during the second week of February. This transition will be gradual, so we appreciate our community's patience. Our monthly pet food distribution at the pet support center will continue uninterrupted, and we'll post the 2025 calendar of dates over the upcoming weekend.

We've made the decision to postpone our first free pet vaccine and wellness clinic until late spring or summer. Our goal is to ensure we're thoroughly prepared—properly set up, fully supplied, and organized—for both pets and their families, as well as the volunteer veterinarians and veterinary professionals generously donating their time.

February will feature some fun fundraisers (stay tuned!), and we'll participate in the Bissell Pet Foundation's Fix the Future Spay and Neuter clinics in March. Alongside these initiatives, we'll maintain our ongoing outreach programs. We're proud to be an entirely volunteer-driven organization, meaning every dollar goes directly toward serving pets and people in our community. This approach means progress can be measured, but sometimes slower, as our team balances these efforts with full-time jobs.

Our new location offers exciting potential, including possible non-load-bearing wall modifications to create more space for canine training classes and workshops.

We are profoundly grateful for our community's incredible support. Thanks to your generosity, we've achieved remarkable milestones:
- Prepaid rent for an entire year
- Secured a full year of insurance
- Received funding for clinic supplies
- Furnishings for our new space with essential equipment like exam tables, rolling cages, furniture and medical scales

We're currently seeking additional supplies for our pet support center. We offer multiple donation options:
- An Amazon wishlist for specific items
- Direct purchases from local stores
- Drop-off at donation bins
- Arranged dropoff at our current pet support center

We also wanted to take this time to announce our current GRPBA Shelter Dog Day Camper, Dante, has been instrumental in our move—helping pack and "supervising" paint color selection! This handsome, social guy is available for adoption at the Kent County Animal Shelter (temporarily located at 2055 Oak Industrial Dr. NE, Grand Rapids). We're eager to help him find his forever home and will be sharing more about his wonderful personality.

To our supporters: Your continued belief in our mission makes everything possible. We are deeply thankful and could not do this work without you.

🔗 Link to Amazon wishlist

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1QECHQH2JNKBT?ref_=wl_share

🔗 Link to Dantes adoption profile

https://www.accesskent.com/Departments/AnimalShelter/dogs.htm &page=shelterluv_wrap_1733858364%2Fembed%2Fanimal%2FKCAS-A-11309

23/01/2025

Please help fill our donation bin at B.C. Pizza Lowell with cat food 🙏🏾🐈

Grand Rapids Pitbull Alliance is in desperate need of cat food to help our local families here in Lowell. If you are able to drop off, we have a donation bin here at our store.

22/01/2025

We are putting out the plea to the community for donations of cat food, especially cat kibble.

We have our 2nd mass pet food distribution for January in Lowell this Saturday January 25th we have very little cat food to hand out!

We are putting the biggest plea out to the Lowell community to consider a donation to the Lowell businesses who host a donation bin for Grand Rapids Pit Bull Alliance. Our GRPBA team will be collecting donations from those bins on Friday to take to the Saturday pet food distribution at First Congregational UCC of Lowell

Our pet food bank and outreach programs have been supporting our community since 2017, the need is real and continues to grow.

Grand Rapids Pit Bull Alliance is 100% supported by fundraising efforts, community support, generous donors and operated entirely by volunteers, there is no paid staff.

If you have the ability to drop off a bag of dry cat food at one of our donation partners it would be greatly appreciated 🙏🏽

You can drop donations off at the following locations during thier regular business hours.

Your Pets Naturally - Grand Rapids
Broad Leaf Brewery & Spirits - Kentwood
Fido & Stitch Grand Rapids
Global Infusion
Ada Hospital For Animals
Fish & Finn Outfitters and Consignment
Cascade Hospital for Animals
First Congregational UCC of Lowell
Breton Village Animal Clinic
Arrow Veterinary Clinic
B.C. Pizza Lowell
Chow Hound Pet Supplies, Standale location only

Please email [email protected]
If you are interested in hosting a donation bin or monthly donation drive for GRPBA 🐾

20/01/2025

Today, as we observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, communities across America unite in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service - transforming a federal holiday commemorating Dr. King's birthday into a powerful day of community action and volunteerism.

The 1994 King Holiday and Service Act reshaped this day's purpose, evolving it from purely commemorative to actively participatory. Through the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), countless service projects receive funding and support, while AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers mobilize in communities nationwide.

Dr. King's vision of service and community lives on through multiple paths of engagement:

- Formal volunteering with local, regional, or national organizations
- Creating and registering your own service projects
- Contributing to meaningful causes through donations
- Taking direct action in your neighborhood

The current winter conditions in Michigan present an immediate opportunity to embody Dr. King's spirit of service. Simple yet impactful actions like checking on elderly neighbors, clearing snow from their walkways, or helping with grocery delivery can make a crucial difference during severe weather.

For those inspired to deepen their commitment beyond a single day, many community organizations welcome ongoing volunteer support throughout the year. This extends Dr. King's vision of sustained community engagement and mutual aid.

As we reflect on this day's historical significance and Dr. King's enduring legacy, let's remember his words: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" Through active service and community care, we honor not just his memory, but his vision of a more equitable and compassionate society.

Art credit Patrick Mcdonnell MUTTS

20/01/2025

Sharing in Spanish

Feliz fin de semana a todos,
les recordamos que estaremos cerrados este Martes, 21 the Enero mientras nos mudamos a un local temporario 2055 Oak Industrial Dr. NE

Hasta el medio de este Marzo, nuestro rescate va a someterse a unas renovaciones muy necesarias e importantes para mejorar las condiciones de los animales mientras estén en nuestro cuidado, incluyendo pisos nuevos!
Para aprender más, favor de leer este comunicado de prensa-

Happy weekend everyone!

As a reminder - We will be closed this Tuesday, January 21, as we move to our temporary location at 2055 Oak Industrial Dr. NE.

Through mid-March, our shelter will be sprucing up our space with some much-needed facility improvements, including new floors.

To learn more about the temporary move, read the full press release here:
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/KENTCOMI/bulletins/3cb5efd