The new Quinte Humane Society facility, to be renamed Humane Society Hastings Prince Edward, is on its way to being built.
Board members provided an update on the three-phase plan Tuesday and also spoke about the new capital campaign “It Takes Heart”.
So far, they have raised $3.1 million of the $5 million price tag for the first phase of the facility, an animal care and adoption centre with a community mobile clinic.
Capital campaign chair Greg Sudds talked about their fundraising goals.
“Our goal is to raise $2 million within the next 12 months. You may say to yourself, how can we proceed with a $5 million expansion given the fact that we’ve only raised $3.1 million to date. Without the critical support of the cities of Quinte West and Belleville, this would not be possible.”
The project has been in the works for a long time.
The old facility located on Avonlough Road in Belleville is dilapidated and can no longer sustain The Humane Society. The new facility will be built on land already owned by The Humane Society at 34 Wallbridge Loyalist Road.
The plans have undergone some scaling back in the last year due to a lack of federal and provincial funding.
Phase one is set to be finished in June of 2022 and, thanks to the financial commitments of the surrounding communities, construction is expected to begin in the next several weeks.
Phase two will include a community education centre and phase three will be an on-site veterinary clinic. The second and third phases do not have dates set yet but phase two is projected to cost $1.2 million.
Donations can be made at the Quinte Humane Society website, in person at 527 Avonlough Road in Belleville and via mail at PO box 25030 RPO Sidney, Belleville, ON K8P OB4.
The “It Takes Heart” capital campaign also has its own website in the works that is expected to be finished soon.
