The new animal shelter in Chatham has surpassed the halfway mark of its fundraising goal.
The shelter is closer to its $1.5-million goal after a generous $25,000 donation from the Donna L’Ecuyer Foundation.
Lynn McGeachy is the project coordinator for the new facility.
She says Donna passed away in 2013 and was a local teacher who had a great love for animals.
"This is a great way the family thought to honour her passion and her interests. So, it was a perfect win for everybody," says McGeachy.
Construction of the new shelter should begin next spring.
McGeachy says the shelter is being built across from the current facility on Park Ave., because that building has outlived its usefulness.
"The original shelter was built 40 years ago and met needs at the time," she says. "The new shelter has some really wonderful features about it. It will allow us the ability to have a great place for animal adoptions."
McGeachy says the new building is more than just a shelter and when it's finished it will be a valuable asset to the community.
"There's a community room that will facilitate teaching and learning. Both in terms of animals and animal care but also be a community resource so that seniors groups, school groups and whoever might come and use that community room as part of their programming," McGeachy says.
McGeachy says she's extremely happy with the L'Ecuyer Foundation donation.
“This is an excellent example of how passionate people of Chatham-Kent are about proper care for animals. The community response has been very heartwarming,” she says.