Quarter Two Rescue Partner: RocKats

Dear friends and furr-iends,

 

Happy summer! It’s so hot and we hate it! We need a PSL like, yesterday!!

 

Chickpea Says… is well into its second quarter of doing business, so it’s high time we share a little bit about RocKats, our new rescue partner and the beneficiaries of this quarter’s sales.

 

Quarter Two Rescue Partner: RocKats

RocKats is a 501(c)(3) animal welfare organization that operates out of the City of Rochester, NY. Entirely volunteer-based, RocKats primarily offers trap, neuter, vaccinate, return (TNVR) services to the Rochester area. Their goal is to tackle the massive overpopulation of free-roaming cats in Rochester with a multifaceted approach of practicing TNVR, offering colony caretaker support, and providing community education. Click here to read more about their work, and consider donating directly to RocKats via Paypal (send us your donation receipt and we’ll give you an exclusive 20% off coupon code to use at Chickpea Says…!). 

The theory and practice of TNVR has become a hot subject of discussion in animal welfare, and our lone blog post is not nearly adequate enough to begin to scratch the surface of these discussions. That said, TNVR is inarguably a fundamental component of feline welfare, and we urge you to browse RocKat’s website for a deeper look at their operations, their mission, their values, and the resources they provide to the Rochester community. 

 

Our Values:

Since its inception, our goal at Chickpea Says… has always been to directly support small, volunteer-run animal rescues in the greater Rochester, NY area. Smaller localized groups are the ones that make a direct, tangible impact in their communities, and are also the ones that struggle the most to maintain adequate funding--oftentimes, volunteers of these groups have to drain their own wallets in order to sustain rescue efforts. 

Our solution: donate $1 from EVERY item sold to a rescue partner local to the Rochester area. Not just $1 from each sale, not just 1% of net profits, but $1 donated from every item sold. Rescue partner beneficiaries rotate on a quarterly basis, so as to share the wealth across multiple organizations, while still providing ample opportunity to maximize donations for each group. 

 

Chickpea's Not-So-Gritty Origin Story:

On June 10th, 2020, Pet Adoption Network – a small cat rescue in Rochester, NY – took in a dirty, starving orphaned kitten and dropped her off at one of their foster homes for some serious TLC. That night, this teeny weeny kitten, who was covered in fleas and smelled like a dumpster, was given the name Chickpea. Chickpea the kitten quickly sought to irreversibly change her foster human's life for good, and soon solidified her status as a foster fail.

Today, Chickpea is a precocious, oversized 4-year-old kitten who likes to beg for cheese-its, chase pipe cleaner toys, and owns more heated blankets than her human. You can find Chickpea’s influencer page at @chickpea.the.kitten on Instagram (the content breakdown is around 80% sleepy kitten photos, 10% gratuitous toe bean shots, and 10% unhinged chaos). 

 

Gratefully yours,

Chickpea (& her human)