On November 12th, 2022, Smelly Cat Rescue held its second annual pop culture trivia night event at the Trigg Banquet Center in O’Fallon Missouri. The event consisted of eight rounds of fun devoted to pop culture, and attendees had a blast.

The event was made possible thanks to the platinum and silver sponsors, including Bank of Franklin County, Deep Cove Creations, Pet Supplies Plus, and 13 other great organizations. TPI was one of the sponsors of the occasion and is honored to help a group that is working for such a worthwhile cause. Overall, the event was a huge success in fundraising towards aiding the city of St. Louis’ homeless cats and kittens.

Who is Smelly Cat Rescue?

At the end of 2020, Samara Mitchell and Kelly Manno came together with one main thing in common- their passion for helping animals and making a difference in the community. With plenty of dedication and some inspiration from the 90’s show, Friends, Smelly Cat Rescue was born.

The duo has plenty of goals for the organization. They’ve had a significant amount of success in the short time they’ve been around and they expect to keep improving:

• Finding homes for sick, injured, abused, and abandoned adoptable cats and kittens.
• Rehabilitating cats through quality veterinary care and shelter within their in-home foster network.
• Reducing the overpopulation of cats through spay and neuter programs and community education.
• Preventing cruelty to cats by supporting animal protection laws.
• Fostering compassion towards cats through education.
• Sharing knowledge and experience with the community.

The Planning of Trivia Night

When the team at Smelly Cat Rescue was brainstorming ideas for fundraisers, one of their first ideas was to do a pop culture-themed trivia night. Stephanie Raumschuh, Vice President at the nonprofit and former teammate of TPI, shared a glimpse of how the team at Smelly Cat Rescue prepared for the event.

“Trivia night seems like a midwest fundraising tradition,” said Stephanie. “Last year, our first trivia night was ‘Friends’ themed. We couldn’t get away with not honoring our namesake show!”

According to Stephanie, 2021’s trivia night was half the size compared to this year, and it sold out fast. The team at Smelly Cat Rescue knew they had to scale up this year. They incorporated a basket raffle, a 50/50 drawing, a booze basket raffle, and even a silent auction.

How the Trivia Night Event Will Help Rescue Cats and Kittens

Thanks to the hardworking team at Smelly Cat Rescue and its many supporters, the trivia night fundraiser raised over $9,000. The funds received will go a long way toward covering current veterinary expenses for cats the charity has already helped as well as any new cats that come into its care.

“We can’t stress enough how crucial it is to have those funds. It’s important all our cats can get the help they need, especially in an emergency situation,” said Stephanie.

The organization really benefits from fun fundraising events. But they depend on monthly contributions from donors to keep themselves going, and they frequently seek support with this.

The Organization’s Expression of Gratitude

Smelly Cat Rescue attributes a lot of its success to its community and supporters. Thanks to everyone who contributes and volunteers with the organization, they are able to continue to help homeless cats and kittens in the area in a variety of ways.

“We’re so grateful to our community and supporters who help us along the way and we couldn’t do what we do without them. All of us are volunteers, so at the end of the day, it’s all for the kitties,” said Stephanie.

The team at Smelly Cat has already helped give over 200 cats a home and a second chance at life. To see how you can get involved, visit smellcatrescue.org