Second Chance Dinner Auction to Benefit Homeless Shelter Pets

EAST BROOKFIELD — Tickets are now on sale for Second Chance Animal Services’ 24th annual dinner auction. The fundraiser will take place on Saturday, March 25 at the Southbridge Hotel & Conference Center, and all proceeds will help homeless shelter pets get the veterinary care they need to begin their new lives.

Animal lovers are invited to enjoy an evening of fun helping pets. As is tradition, the event begins with cocktails at 4 p.m. with the opportunity to view and bid on auction items and take a chance on raffle prizes. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., followed by the auction.

Chief Development Officer Lindsay Doray said this year’s dinner auction is more important than ever and hopes supporters will come out to support pets. “Our dinner auction is our largest fundraising event of the year and helps provide the funds we need to provide our shelter pets with all the veterinary care they need. We know this year will be a challenging year for many, and we want to be ready to help all the pets who come to us.”

This year, a selection of gift cards and small, easy-to-ship items donated for the auction will be available for advance online bidding in the week prior to the event, with advance bidding ending the evening before the event. “Attendees will have the opportunity to bid on many, many event-exclusive items and outbid any online bids until the auction closes,” said Doray, who encourages supporters to make plans to attend the popular event.

Second Chance is welcoming sponsors and item donations to help make the dinner auction a success. “Our local businesses are always amazing in their support of this event,” Doray added. “I love to see all the fabulous items when they arrive. You can really feel the love for animals here in our community.”

Second Chance is once again asking supporters to consider purchasing a local restaurant gift certificate for donation to the event, an appeal called Plates for Pets it started during the pandemic. According to Doray, “for many years, local restaurants have been staunch supporters. They were always the first to send a donation for our fundraising events. They are still struggling, so we hope pet lovers who also want to support their local restaurants will consider joining Plates for Pets.”

The annual dinner auction is Second Chance’s largest and most important fundraiser. This year’s event will help medically needy shelter pets get the care they need, from vaccines to lifesaving surgeries. Second Chance takes in sick or injured pets that may be turned away from other shelters due to the cost of providing their veterinary care.

For anyone interested in sponsoring, donating an item, or attending the 24th annual dinner auction, complete information and tickets can be found at www.secondchanceanimals.org/dinner-auction.