EP# 52: Passion for Paws: Cathy Maclutsky's Heartfelt Drive to Revitalize Animal Welfare in Belchertown
Apr 16, 2024Episode 52
Liz Lemon & Cathy Maclutsky
What makes Cathy Maclutsky with Belchertown Animal Relief Committee (BARC) a good neighbor?
Have you ever wondered what it takes to transform a community's approach to animal welfare? Cathy Maclutsky from the Belchertown Animal Relief Committee (BARC) joined us on the Good Neighbor Podcast to share an uplifting tale of how passion for paws led to significant change. Her story begins with a chicken coop from the 1920s, an outdated animal control facility, and a group of residents who decided enough was enough. Cathy walks us through the creative and heartfelt fundraising endeavors that united the town, from crafting pet toys to collaborating with local establishments, all in the name of providing a better future for the four-legged members of Belchertown.
Cathy also addresses some common misunderstandings about BARC's role in the community. While they don't directly manage adoptions or house animals, their financial contributions to medical care and other animal needs are indispensable. Their support ensures that the town's facility can offer the best possible care to animals in transition. This episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast is more than a conversation; it's a celebration of the spirit of community involvement and the extraordinary outcomes that dedication to a cause can bring. Cathy's insights will not only warm your heart but also inspire you to consider how you could make a difference in your own neighborhood.
What makes Cathy Maclutsky with Belchertown Animal Relief Committee (BARC) a good neighbor?
Have you ever wondered what it takes to transform a community's approach to animal welfare? Cathy Maclutsky from the Belchertown Animal Relief Committee (BARC) joined us on the Good Neighbor Podcast to share an uplifting tale of how passion for paws led to significant change. Her story begins with a chicken coop from the 1920s, an outdated animal control facility, and a group of residents who decided enough was enough. Cathy walks us through the creative and heartfelt fundraising endeavors that united the town, from crafting pet toys to collaborating with local establishments, all in the name of providing a better future for the four-legged members of Belchertown.
Cathy also addresses some common misunderstandings about BARC's role in the community. While they don't directly manage adoptions or house animals, their financial contributions to medical care and other animal needs are indispensable. Their support ensures that the town's facility can offer the best possible care to animals in transition. This episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast is more than a conversation; it's a celebration of the spirit of community involvement and the extraordinary outcomes that dedication to a cause can bring. Cathy's insights will not only warm your heart but also inspire you to consider how you could make a difference in your own neighborhood.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Liz Lemon.
Speaker 2:
Welcome to Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of an animal relief committee? Surprisingly, it might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your neighbor, kathy McCluskey, with BARC Belch Town Animal Relief Committee. How are you doing today, kathy? I'm great. Thank you, how are you Great? We're excited to learn all about you and your business. Tell us about BARC.
Speaker 3:
So BARC, like you said, belch Town Animal Relief Committee was created in 2015 by a group of community members who are motivated by love and compassion for all animals, and we were established to support our animal community. We started fundraising in 2015 with a vision of building a new animal control facility that would be a safe place for animals in our community who maybe were in transition or animals that were lost and community animals that needed to get adopted out. We also wanted a place that we could provide our community with some educational services and medical services. So, basically, our animal control facility that we had was a chicken coop that was built in the 1920s. It had no bathroom, it had no running water, it had no heating or cooling. It was almost shut down several times by the state deemed unfit conditions. So that's where we decided to step in and form this organization so that we could try to help out and see what we could do about that. So, basically, in March of 2015, we were the town, did draw up some plans for a new facility, we received our 501c3 nonprofit status and we were on our way. So that's the start of our fundraising. Really, that we did. We started out with ordering some T-shirts, sweatshirts, magnets, stickers. A lot of our community members would make some dog toys, cat toys that we could start to sell and, as you can imagine, the fundraising to start was fairly difficult. So we started off at our Belch Town Fair in the fall of 2015,. Just so we can get out into our community, introduce ourselves what our plan was, who we were and what our vision and mission was. We would set up booths at Tractor Supply on a Saturday morning. We would set up a table at Atkins Farmer's Market. We would do the Giving Tuesdays and we did Valley Gives. We did Dine to Donate at our local restaurants, at Grapevine and Antonio's in Belchertown. Florence Bank has an amazing community grant program. If you're a Florence Bank customer, you can nominate a nonprofit, your favorite nonprofit of your choice. It goes a year long. At the end of the year they give checks out to everybody. That's been getting votes. So that's been. That's still one of our best programs that we still do to this day. That's great.
Speaker 3:
How did you get into the business? So we got in. I personally got into the business. Um, I actually saw an ad in our local paper, um, about basically about a group to start with community members that were interested in helping to start planning and help fundraising to see how we can get a new animal control facility going. So we met at the town hall one evening I believe it was like February of 2015. There was about 10 to 12 community members and that's how I got started into it. I thought I'm from Belcher Town, born and raised in Belcher Town. Still I'm here. I love my community, I love animals. So I thought this was a perfect way for me to give back to my town and to get involved in a way to meet the community and help.
Speaker 2:
That's important. What are the myths and misconceptions within your industry?
Speaker 3:
I think the misconceptions for personally, for Bark is people think that we have animals, that we have a facility, that we adopt animals, which is not the case. We actually support our animal control. Now that our new animal control facility is up and running, we are able to support our animal control facility. They have the animals, they do the intakes. You know they're the ones that are providing medical care and food and vaccinations and anything that needs to happen to an animal that comes into their care. We are here to support that and we help financially support what the town cannot support. So that's what I think the misconception is we don't have a building, we don't have animals. We are here to support animal control in our community.
Speaker 2:
That's important. Outside of work, what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:
Me personally. I love to travel. I love to be outside this time of year. I love to golf. We have a boat that we keep on the river Connecticut River so we love to be on the boat. I love my animals. I started fostering during COVID kittens and moms so I love to foster and just spend time with my husband and my animals and my friends and family.
Speaker 2:
That's exciting. Let's change gears just for a moment. Can you describe one hardship or life challenges that you rose above and can now say because of it you're better and stronger? What comes to mind?
Speaker 3:
So I think for this question, when I I didn't really know much about nonprofits until I got involved in this about 10 years ago and it really became a really a passion of mine, so it actually led me to finish my education, which to me is, I think, challenging as an adult. So it led me to go back to college and get my. I graduated in 2020 from UMass with a degree in business administration and nonprofit, and I'm currently getting my master's at Westfield State in public administration and nonprofit, and I'm currently getting my master's at Westfield State in public administration and nonprofit. My focus is mostly on my graduate focus in research is on animal control, it's importance in our community and the lack of funding that it has within the government. So, to me, challenging as an adult is finishing your education. So this passion brought me to to that challenge, which I will be done soon and you stuck with it.
Speaker 2:
Congratulations for sure, you're welcome. What is the one thing you wish our listeners knew about Bark? I know we already touched base on a little.
Speaker 3:
Well, I think what I would love people to know is how wonderful our community is and how supportive our community is and was when we first started and continues to be supportive of us. Just, you know not only the residents but our businesses in town too, and you know our community not just in town but outside of town. I just think that people need to know how you know it's a community effort and we can't do what we do without the community and its support. So I think that is really important in how people need to know how you know thankful we are for our community and the support that we've been given over the years and continue to get.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely Community, is everything for sure. How can our listeners learn more about BARC, belchertown Animal Relief Committee?
Speaker 3:
You can contact us. We have a website, it's wwwbarkfriendscom, and follow us on our Facebook page. It's Bark Inc. Belchertown Animal Relief Committee.
Speaker 2:
Is there a phone number you'd like to share as?
Speaker 3:
well, we don't have a phone number. We don't have a facility or an office per se. You know we are 100% volunteer. We are a small but mighty strong group of volunteers that we have. That you know, keep this wonderful organization up and running. So no phone number we do have. The email that you could use is Kathy C-A-T-H-Y dot Bark friends at gmailcom. That would go directly to me.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely Well, kathy, I really appreciate you being on the show and we wish you and Bark and the rest of the business fantastic, most great time. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:
you're welcome thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppalmercom. That's gnppalmercom, or call 413-414-5940.