LORDSTOWN - Gifts from two local philanthropic families will help the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County move into new facilities in Champion.
The Welfare League announced that the Covelli family and Cafaro Foundation each donated $250,000 toward relocation to the proposed $6.6 million Animal Welfare Care and Education Center in Champion.
Caryn Covelli said she hoped that the gifts would encourage other organizations and individuals to contribute to the fundraising campaign, which was announced in July. At the time, she said the current building ''is in bad condition, is too small for our current needs, its cement floor is cracked and we have to worry about disease being spread around when contagious animals come in. We constantly have to turn animals away because there is no room."
Phyllis Cafaro said, "This is the type of community resource that is sorely needed. It will improve the care of helpless pets that have been abandoned or neglected by their owners. Even more importantly, it will provide new opportunities for young people striving for careers as veterinarians, zoologists or veterinary technicians."
Trumbull County is donating 8 acres of land near the Kent State University Trumbull Campus as the site for the new facility. The 25,000-square-foot structure would more than double the housing capacity of the current facilities at 545 Brunstetter Road S.W. in Lordstown.
The new Animal Welfare Care and Education Center will include state-of-the art features for providing veterinary care. It would incorporate the Trumbull County Dog Shelter as well as the volunteer Animal Welfare League. The facility would provide a full-service veterinary clinic with exam rooms, surgery and a lab.
It will be a green building, incorporating technology that will enable it to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
It will be able to accommodate classes of students in an Animal Management Technology Program at Trumbull Career and Technical Center, allowing them to have hands-on training at the new shelter.
Tax deductible contributions may be made by contacting the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County at 330-394-3512. The league's fundraising consultant, The Bentz Group, also is processing donations sent to its local office at 303 Washington St. N.W., Warren 44483.