Photo by Howard Owens.
Proceeds from the sale of a children's book developed by the Chamber of Commerce -- “Genny Sees the Eclipse” -- will help feed rescue animals and even enable a couple of sanctuaries to give a couple of horses a safe place to retire.
On Tuesday, Brian Cousins, president of the Chamber, presented $28,653.56 to Jonell Chudyk, Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary; Marcy Colantonio, Volunteers for Animals; Maryanne Arena, Mary Land Haven for Horses; Pamela Harmon, Cherry Hill Sanctuary.
Each organization is receiving $7,163.39.
"This is truly life-changing," said Chudyk. "I know for us from Mockingbird Farm Sanctuary, that amount, that total amount, will pay for the amount of hay that we need through winter. So thank you so much."
Harmon said the $7,000 would help Cherry Hill rescue more horses, and Arena, at Mary Land, said her rescue for retired racehorses would be able to add two horses to its stable.
"It may sound like, 'Oh, two horses,' but that means two lives saved," Arena said.
The book was produced to educate children about the April 8 total eclipse of the sun in Genesee County. The chamber received orders from 28 states -- including Hawaii -- and 165 cities. Forbes named it one of the best five books for people to buy to learn more about the eclipse.
It was written by Colleen Onuffer and illustrated by Andy Reddout.
"We talked to the agriculture community, and we talked with the scientific community to make sure the book was true to life," Cousins said. "Then we thought about how we could commemorate this book to our community, and we thought of you and your selfless devotion to these animals. If you take a look at the book, you will see each one of the animals that you take care of day in and day out are represented in that book."
Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
Photo by Howard Owens.
