Pirates Donate to the Humane Society of Bergen County
1/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
The holiday season often inspires charity and good will, and the Seton Hall women's golf team certainly did their part for a number of four-legged friends.
In early December, the Pirates volunteered at the Humane Society of Bergen County. All seven members of the team, in addition to head coach Sara Doell and assistant coach Debby Murphy, assisted in such tasks such as cleaning out cages, feeding the animals, walking dogs, stuffing donation letter envelopes or simply spending time petting and playing with the cats and dogs. The Humane Society doesn't receive any funding from the state, county or local government and survives entirely on donations, so the Pirates' felt inspired to do more.
"I saw how in need the shelter was in terms of supplies," said senior Megan Tenhundfeld (Loveland, Ohio). "They have very limited space and do not have state funding. I was very happy to see how much the workers cared about all of the animals and I knew that I wanted to help them as well."
"All of us are huge animal lovers, so we had a great experience," said senior Karlie Zabrosky (Erie, Pa.). "But after we left, we all decided we wanted to do something more to help this shelter."
So in a break of tradition for this team, the Pirates decided to forego their usual Christmas gift exchange, and instead use the money they would have spent on each other to purchase much needed supplies for the Humane Society.
"As potentially the largest animal lover in the world, I thought it would be a great idea for the team to reach out to the shelter with donations," Tenhundfeld said. "We collected about $100, went to a local store and bought cart loads of supplies."
The Pirates returned to the Humane Society and delivered a plethora of items from litter to dog treats to paper products and a multitude of other items which helped with the daily operation of the facility. Of course, the ladies again had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the animals.
"You could tell how grateful the shelter was for the donations," Tenhundfeld said. "It felt great to know we're making an impact on the shelter and the animals themselves."
"We couldn't have decided on a better community service project," Zabrosky added. "The animals clearly need the stuff more than we need to get each other a gift. We have loved working with this shelter and hope to continue to help them in the future."
The Pirates' generosity wasn't lost on their head coach.
"I was so proud when they decided to use their money in this fashion," said Doell. "Proud, but not surprised. This is a very selfless team comprised of young ladies with big hearts. I'm happy to see them get into the spirit of the holiday season."
