Welcome to Hearts That Purr, a Tucson-area, non-traditional nonprofit.
Jeanmarie Schiller-McGinnis and her husband founded Hearts That Purr in 2013 after she saw a disturbing trend at traditional shelters.
"Older cats or cats with special needs, like health issues, were never the ones that people came to adopt," Jeanmarie said.
She also saw a need here in Tucson, where so many owners had to surrender their cats.
"It's so sad to think that a cat is going to spend the last part of their life in a shelter," Jeanmarie said. "Especially when their owner had to give them up because the owner's health failed or the owner passed away."
Out of that sadness came Hearts That Purr.
Jeanmarie and her husband bought a 5,000-square-foot home on the Northwest side, converting it into Hearts That Purr.
They are currently taking care of 28 cats, with many more living off-campus with fosters.
Hearts That Purr only has one full-time employee. The rest are volunteers.
"A group of people, ordinary people who love cats, in particular the elderly ones, trying to make a difference one kitty at a time," Jeanmarie said. "When you see the cats that are here, and you know all of their stories, you feel like it's really such a wonderful, happy, place."
Hearts That Purr relies entirely on donations.
You can donate directly to the nonprofit through this link.
KGUN 9's partners in The Giving Project, The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, will match the first $500 in donations.
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Pat Parris is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. He is a graduate of Sabino High School where he was the 1982 high school state track champion in the 800 meters. While in high school and college, he worked part-time in the KGUN 9 newsroom. Share your story ideas and important issues with Pat by emailing pat.parris@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
