Couple's Wedding Registry Asks for Gifts for Animal Shelter
They already had everything they needed, so they decided to ask their guests to contribute to a cause close to their hearts.
Most people's wedding registries include items like new dishes, bath towels maybe even a lime green Kitchen Aid mixer. Newlyweds Jonathan and Jeananne Wickham had a different idea in mind.
The 26-year-old Wooster, Ohio natives decided to dedicate their gift list to items that would benefit a local animal shelter. Aside from cash donations, the couple asked for wet and dry cat food, kitty litter, dog biscuits and kibble.
The couple, who have six cats of their own, delivered their donation to the Wayne County Humane Society a few week after they said their I-do's.
"We'd been together for seven years and we didn't have a need for traditional gifts, like the mixers and the toasters," Jonathan Wickham told The Daily Record . "We're really big into animal welfare and rescue so we wanted to take an opportunity to give back to this shelter, specifically because I grew up in Wooster."
Brian Bogner, the president of the Wayne County Humane Society board, said it's the largest one-time donation they have ever seen, and will provide much-needed food and resources for the shelter animals for years to come.
"For people of that age to think of others is remarkable," Bogner said of the Wickhams.
"People like them help the mission and keep the doors open. We survive on donations like this." - Brian Bogner
Turns out, the Wickham's donation came at just the right time for two injured cats that recently arrived at the shelter. One of the cats, Debbie, had a broken leg and the other, Peaches, came in with a serious eye infection. The cash the couple provided for emergency vet bills will cover the cost of the two surgeries needed to keep the cats alive.
With the shelter's cabinets now stocked with food, cleaning supplies and coffee for the hard-working volunteers and employees, the Wickhams just hope that other couples might follow their lead.
"We accumulate so much stuff in our lives and even if you think in the future, 'Maybe, I'll need this', if you can do some good with a large or small event, then do that," Jeananne said. "Truly, there was nothing in our lives that we needed to have a registry so we could get this or get that. We could get those things for ourselves, but this we couldn't do by ourselves."
If you're interested in making a donation to your local animal shelter, click here to search the ASPCA's national database.
(Source: images Wayne County Human Society Facebook )