One Classy Mother Pupper: HIT Living Foundation and Winston House in Venice end the year a Holiday Fundraiser
Article By Claudia Gonzalez
Photography by Christopher Mortenson
When you combine music, celebrities, food, and dogs, you are bound to have a memorable evening filled with joy and a huge fundraising success. On December 4, 2021, The HIT Living Foundation and Winston House in Venice hosted “One Classy Mother Pupper,” a holiday fundraiser with animals and celebrities to raise funds to rescue dogs.
The evening featured live performances by friend of the foundation, DJ Kilmore of Incubus, and the band Kids in America. Along with drinks, appetizers, and desserts, the event held a silent auction that included items such as a couple of great pieces by Los Angeles based graffiti artist RISK, VIP tickets to a Chargers game, a Fender Jaguar guitar by members of Incubus, a one-night stay at a pool side bungalow at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with a lunch for 2 at their restaurant 25 Degrees, among other great items.
The HIT Living Foundation is a nonprofit that began back in 2018 and focuses on dog rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming, as well as spay/neuter programs abroad. Founder, Heather Crowe, started the organization after successfully coordinating the rescue and adoption of a dog she encountered while she was in the Bahamas. “She got adopted out in 3 days and I couldn’t believe how easy it was,” Heather recalls. “I looked at my husband and thought you know what, I could really do this and help one dog at a time.
What began as a team effort between Heather, her sister and mom, has expanded into a full running team that has been successfully rehabilitating and rehoming countless dogs in need of a warm and loving home. One amazing and life changing service that they provide is the financial, emotional, and physical assistance that comes with fostering dogs.
What originally was meant to be a Halloween fundraiser, eventually transformed to a holiday fundraiser due to the huge shift in a lot of people not being able to foster now that they began to travel and go back to work. “This is our first fundraising event where the focus wasn’t so much on the dogs but the attendees, the adopters, the fosters, and the community that has been helping us throughout the years,” Heather says.
The evening ended in success with HIT Living Foundation raising about $20,000 and an overall estimate of a little over $250,000-$300,000 for the whole year. All funds raised at the event were used to get dogs ready for a new home by providing them with microchips, vaccines, leash, a spay/neuter treatment, collar, tag and harness.
Just as they state, with open hearts and open minds, HIT Living Foundation continues to bring compassion to the work they do in animal and human welfare by providing constant financial and physical assistance during these times of crisis.
If you would like to get involved, please visit their page www.hitlivingfoundation.org to learn more about how you can donate or sign up to volunteer to make a difference in the life of a furry companion.