GrandPaws Pantry

Yesterday was the last monthly pet food delivery from GrandPaws Pantry and we were so happy to be joined on the delivery route by The Arizona Pet Project to complete the transition of services to their organization. We are confident that the seniors with companion pets that we have served will continue to receive the pet food assistance that they need from the amazing team Arizona Pet Project. What was anticipated to be a sentimental day, turned out to be alot of fun with both people and pets. ❤️

Yesterday GrandPaws Pantry was joined by a team member from The Arizona Pet Project to begin introducing their organization to our Senior Companion Pet Program. A big THANK YOU to Chad, who joined in on our delivery route, and was introduced to the assisted living facilities that are home to many seniors with companion pets. As GrandPaws Pantry comes to a close in 2 months, we are grateful for the commitment from The Arizona Pet Project to continue to provide pet food assistance to the existing seniors and their companion pets. We are confident that The Arizona Pet Project has a great team and shares the GrandPaws Pantry mission to help pets and the people who love them.

We are getting ready to make the February pet food deliveries tomorrow to seniors with companion pets living in assisted living facilities.

Maybe we need a bigger cart???

Welcome 2024!
This year will bring A LOT of change within GrandPaws Pantry, and for me personally. In the coming months, I will graduate and begin my college career, and I am eagerly looking forward to exploring new opportunities as I begin my next chapter.
Which means, it is time for GrandPaws Pantry to come to a close. I began GrandPaws Pantry in 2016, when I was 10 years old, because I saw a need in my community and I wanted to do something to help. Since then, so much has happened and I am incredibly proud of the assistance provided to so many seniors and their companion pets. It’s been my honor to advocate on their behalf and bring attention to their needs. This March, GrandPaws Pantry will be celebrating 8 years of an amazing journey and it seems a logical time to end.
Although I plan to retain the GrandPaws Pantry name, (I may have ideas for the future), I have spent the last several months exploring options for continuing assistance for every senior and their pet currently in the Senior Companion Pet Care Program. After careful consideration, I am excited to introduce you to The Arizona Pet Project. Their wonderful team is commitment to keeping pets and people together, and over the next several months, our organizations will be in coordination to make the transition for existing seniors with companion pets needing pet food assistance as seamless as possible. To learn more about The Arizona Pet Project, please visit their website @ www.azpetproject.org
GrandPaws Pantry will no longer accept donations as of Feb 1, allowing time for our monthly donors to discontinue their scheduled donations through PayPal, however, please consider donating to The Arizona Pet Project.
It is difficult to express how much it has meant to me to have had so much support for GrandPaws Pantry all these years. Thank you for caring about a community of people with pets that are very special. ❤️
With gratitude,
Sonya

*Facebook Disclaimer: GrandPaws Pantry, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, founded in 2016, will continue to retain the exclusive registered copyright of the GrandPaws Pantry logo (posted same twice below).

Santa Paws came to town today and delivered special holidays gifts to the seniors and their companion pets living in partnered assisted living facilities. New toys, blankets, collars and special treats filled the holiday gift bags. Thank you to everyone who has donated to GrandPaws Pantry in recent months. Your generousity made this day possible and filled so many hearts with holiday joy!
Merry Christmas to all from GrandPaws Pantry!

This past Sunday we had the last GrandPaws Pantry board meeting for 2023. I am so grateful for these amazing women that have been my mentors. They are my guides and cheerleaders and GrandPaws Pantry would not be what it is without their incredible support.
(Our “ugly sweater” contest was alot of fun too!)

Looking for a fun place to hang out this weekend?
Check out the Phoenix Cat Cafe!
Cat cafes have become increasingly popular and are so much fun and we are so lucky to have one located here in downtown Phoenix!
Yesterday we stopped in and enjoyed the company of many amazing cats, all available for adoption! There is something magical about cats and whether you come in to adopt, or just simply hang out, consider a visit and support an amazing place dedicated to feline welfare.

A very Happy Thanksgiving from GrandPaws Pantry!

It was a purr-fect morning for the AAWL (Arizona Animal Welfare League) “Walk To Save Animals” 2K/5K walk around beautiful Tempe Town Lake. Thank you to everyone that donated to Team GrandPaws! Together we raised $3,375.00 to benefit Arizona’s oldest, and largest, no-kill animal shelter!! Thank you also to our team members, both two-legged and four-legged, who came out early on a Saturday morning to support this great cause!

It usually takes 3 days, before and after school, to make the monthly pet food deliveries to all the seniors with companion pets living in our partnered assisted living facilities. By the time the last delivery of the month is made, I’m usually pretty tired…and then this happens.
Chihuahua kisses and hugs from two wonderful seniors who waited to see me. Best part of my day! ❤️

Yesterday we had an amazing visit with our community partner at Rusty's Angels Sanctuary and were able to present them with a $1,000 donation to kick off their annual Sunday Funday fundraiser! This wonderful organization provides sanctuary for senior dogs that have been surrendered. Because of age, many of these senior pets would be considered unadoptable and likely euthanized in county shelters, but at Rusty’s Angels they find a safe haven and many are rehomed to people looking to love a senior dog. To learn more about Rusty’s Angels Sanctuary, support their fundraising campaign, or inquire about adopting a senior pet, please visit www.rustysangelssanctuary.org

Please consider supporting Team GrandPaws as we participate in the AAWL’s annual “Walk To Save Animals”@ 8am on Sat., November 4, 2023 @ beautiful Tempe Beach Park. This 2k/5k family and pet friendly event supports AAWL, Arizona’s oldest no-kill animal shelter. Join us!

Check out Team GrandPaws' team fundraising page for Arizona Animal Welfare League Support Team GrandPaws! 

The school year has begun for Arizona’s youth and yesterday GrandPaws Pantry connected with Gabriel's Angels to donate $1,000.00 to help support their amazing pet therapy teams. Gabriel’s Angels is on a mission to inspire confidence, compassion and best behaviors in at-risk children through pet therapy and engages children in their school settings and partner facilities with pet therapy teams.
GrandPaws Pantry has been an annual supporter of Gabriel’s Angels for many years because of the incredibly important work they do and because we understand the powerful, healing interactions that can occur between pets and people.
To learn more about our community partner, Gabriel’s Angels, please visit their website @ www.gabrielsangels.org

Please welcome Immanuel Campus of Care, (located in N. Peoria), to the GrandPaws Pantry community. With several levels of care, we are excited to begin monthly pet food delivery to eligible seniors in the Assisted Living Program. We are also very excited to be expanding our West Valley network.

Earlier today we delivered 40+ small play pools, along with a $500.00 donation, to the amazing team Poverty's Pets.
We just can’t say enough good things about this incredible organization that really focuses on grassroots interventions to address pet overpopulation in some of the most vulnerable, underserved communities in Phoenix.
We think their summer “Pools for Pups” campaign is brilliant! So many pets are left outside to suffer in the intense Arizona heat. By offering a pool for their pup to use, Poverty’s Pets is able to engage in a conversation with individual pet owners that creates an opportunity to educate, provide spay/neuter services, vet care, etc, and in some causes, maybe even the owner surrender of the pet that can then be given a second chance for a better life.
Their non-judgmental approach to community engagement in some of the most economically challenged commmunities in Phoenix is so important to solving the bigger issue of pet overpopulation. While it’s important to encourage rescue pet adoption and clear the many shelters, few focus on the root cause of why the shelters are so overpopulated to begin with.
We commend their important work. Please follow Poverty’s Pets @ www.povertyspets.org

A shout out to one of our amazing Board Members, Dina, who went above and beyond this week to help deliver the August pet food supplies to the seniors with companion pets at our network of assisted living facilities! The heat this week has been intense!

In addition to helping deliver pet food supplies, Dina co-manages our social media pages and collaborates on securing funding sources and grants. We are lucky to have her be a part of GrandPaws Pantry since 2019!
Thank you Dina!

Yesterday I had the honor of being a guest speaker during the online ALTCS (Arizona Long Term Care Service) Quarterly Contractors Meeting. This was an important opportunity as most of the seniors in the Senior Companion Pet Care Program of GrandPaws Pantry are ALTCS recipients and I have observed both the limitations and challenges that many senior recipients experience, especially those with companion pets. By sharing information about the work of GrandPaws Pantry, I was also able to advocate to plan adminstrators and contractors, solutions and recommendations for consideration to address senior mental health needs and overall wellness. I am grateful for their receptiveness and interest, and I am confident that these conversations will result in continued improvement of service plans and delivery.
In addition to providing seniors in assisted living facilities monthly pet food for their companion pets, I continue to work as an advocate for a population that I believe is often overlooked.

Happy July 4th!
While this holiday can be alot of fun for humans, it can also be extremely stressful for pets. Loud noises and fireworks can scare even the bravest pet and more pets go missing on this holiday than any other. Please keep your pet safe and secure by keeping them inside and protected from loud noises.

The summer heat couldn’t stop us from visiting our community partner today to donate $1,000.00 to a Soldier’s Best Friend (www.soldiersbestfriend.org), an Arizona non-profit organization dedicated to pairing and training service dogs with eligible veterans.
A Soldier’s Best Friend provides U.S. military veterans living with combat related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) with service or therapeutic companion dogs, most of which are rescued from local shelters. With over 200+ dogs rescued and 350+ veteran and dog teams trained, this organization and training facility is truly amazing!

We continue our summer plans to reconnect with our community partners and today we’d like to give a shout out to the youth volunteers @ Anthem Pets & GrandPaws Pantry for coordinating to meet so we could donate pet food supplies and $1,000.00 monetary donation to Anthem Pets.
Anthem Pets does a great job rescuing dogs and cats and helping them find their “fur-ever” homes. To learn about the amazing work they do please visit their website @ www.anthempets.org

We continue to reconnect with our community partners this summer and today we were able to deliver much needed wet and dry cat food to our long time partner at Cat Cavorting, along with a $1,000.00 donation. We met Cat Cavorting many years ago at a cat cafe and knew immediately that their commitment was genuine and their dedication sincere to help communities and individuals manage outdoor cat colonies through TNR (trap, neuter, release), as well as tend to the needs of outdoor cat colonies and when possible, rescue adoptable cats and help them find their
“fur-ever” homes. To learn more, please visit Cat Cavorting @ www.catcavorting.org

Earlier today GrandPaws Pantry was able to reconnect with our community partner, Caring for Canines, and provide them with some much needed dog food, as well as $1,000.00 donation. Caring for Canines is one of those amazing rescues on the frontlines helping abandoned and homeless dogs find a second chance and we love and admire the care and compassion they have for every dog. To learn more about Caring for Canines, please visit www.caringforcanines.org.

The school year is officially done! Which means that over summer we now have some time to check in with our community partners! Today we were able to reconnect with our community partner, Living The Dream Rescue. (www.livingthedreamrescue.com)
If you follow them you may know that they are currently working to resolve a pet hoarding situation and to date have accepted over 30 cats that are in the process of receiving medical/dental care, being fostered or being adopted. That’s alot, but also the reason why we love our partnership with them so much! Their dedication to helping pets find forever homes is amazing! Today we were happy to share with them some surplus pet supplies and a donation of $1,000.00!

Please welcome Paseo Village Assisted Living facility to the GrandPaws Pantry network! Located in Peoria, AZ, Paseo Assisted Living facility cares for senior residents and their companion pets and has several seniors in need of assistance with monthly pet food. We are happy to help and this week was their first monthly delivery of pet food from GrandPaws Pantry!

A huge THANK YOU to the City of Glendale employees for their recent partnership with GrandPaws Pantry for a pet food donation drive! From March 17-April 14, city employees collected pet food supplies at several donation sites including City Hall, Field Operations Campus, Main Library, GRPSTC and the Foothills Precinct Police Dept.
Today we picked up those donations which totalled 329 lbs of cat/dog food and 85 pet toys and accessories!!
These supplies will go directly to the seniors with companion pets living in assisted living facilities that we serve.
So thankful for their partnership and these generous donations and so thankful to be part of such a caring community.