Sean Casey Animal Rescue’s Halloween Fundraiser Moves Online This Year

The Sean Casey Animal Rescue (SCAR) in Windsor Terrace is who Brooklyn’s residents call about injured cats, stray dogs, or missing turtles. Sean Casey and his team consistently show up to help. Every fall, Brooklyn shows up for them by supporting SCAR’s annual Halloween fundraiser. In years past, there was a Halloween block party to go with the event, but this year things are different due to COVID-19, and the “Fang-tastic” Halloween Raffle is being held online.

“You know, it’s just totally different this time,” said Maria Bowen, a volunteer at SCAR who produces their events, of the fundraising. “So, the rescue is hoping to make at least $10,000 on this, I think that would be amazing and we’re more than halfway there.”

The two-week event takes place from Oct. 11 to Oct. 25, offering prizes, gift cards, baskets, and more for those who buy a raffle ticket. Members of the SCAR community have donated over 70 amazing prizes for people to win, including a weekend stay at a Victorian Farmhouse and a Keurig K-Mini Coffee maker.

Usually, SCAR volunteers will go door to door to neighboring businesses, handing out letters, asking for donations, but this year Bowen put out one simple message that led to great success.

“I sent out one Facebook post asking our community, ‘Can you donate a prize for a raffle?’” Bowen said. “I got a tremendous response so it was just that one Facebook post that got us to this raffle. I got so many emails saying ‘Yes, I’d love to donate something.’”

Prices for prizes vary, with some being only $3 and others $10, and there are no restrictions on how many raffle tickets one can buy – all proceeds fund the Critical Care Program, a program that allows SCAR to pay monthly vet bills for critical medical cases, as well as to support the daily needs of the shelter.

Raffle tickets are being sold until Oct. 25, at 5:58 p.m. with the drawings being announced right after. Participants will be notified of their winnings and receive their prizes via mail, email, and or picking them up at SCAR.

“It really was a community coming together that brought this together,” Bowen said. “And if we do hit the goal for $10,000, even more than that, it’s because people came together and said, ‘Yeah, let’s help out.’ That’s what really happened.”