News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The new group Friends of the Jackson County Animals making progress toward becoming a certified non-profit.
Director Mark Pack said the group has been recognized by the state as a non-profit and has received its tax number. He said they are expecting official 501c3 status in the next week or so.
“Every day it seems like we’re making three steps forward,” Pack said. “I’ve never done this before so it’s kind of amazing how fast we’re actually moving, since we’re really only about six weeks in at this.”
Pack said they have been approved to start taking donations. He said the group’s first fundraiser will be at the Dailey and Vincent Great American Music Festival in Gainesboro this October.
The group has already created its Board of Directors, Board of Trustees, and two-year volunteers. Pack said once the group receives its 501c3 status, it will be able to start applying for grants by utilizing a volunteer as its official grant writer.
Pack said the main goal of the organization is to make a difference in Jackson County, and hopefully aid in what he calls an epidemic of abandoned animals.
“It is pitiful to see the animals come starving to death,” Pack said. “Literally, you go on to any of the Facebook pages of lost animals, you see these starving dogs and cats and no one’s doing anything about it. So, going back to my engineering roots, how can we do something about it?”
Pack said the organization has received lots of community support, with about 100 people attending its initial meeting. He said the Jackson County Commission seems to approve of the idea as well.
