-Special to T.M.N. by Kara Hackney<\/p>\n
Looking for a new way to spend Valentine\u2019s Day? Want to find a way to give back to
\nthe community? Then come celebrate with the Western Plains Animal Refuge.<\/p>\n
The \u201cGrrrs and Prrrs Valentine Gala,\u201d hosted by the Western Plains Animal Refuge, will be held on Saturday, Feb. 15 from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Hays Arts Center
\nAnnex, 1010 Main St.<\/p>\n
The event will include appetizers and drinks, as well as a dance and the chance to
\nwin great prizes. The event is 21 to attend, and semi-formal dress is requested.
\n\u201cThe gala has something for everyone,\u201d said director Brendon McCampbell, \u201cfrom
\ngreat food and drinks to a dance floor with music by K10 Productions. There will
\nalso be a photo booth and the chance to win great prizes.\u00a0The best part is the amazing cause it supports.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tickets can be purchased at the following Hays locations: Hays Arts Center (112 E
\n11th), Hillside Veterinary Clinic (5250 Vine St.) and White Chocolate (810 Main St.).
\nThe cost is $25 per person or $45 a couple.<\/p>\n
In order to promote the upcoming Gala, a group of students will be at Wal-Mart on
\nSaturday, Feb. 8, from 3 to 5 p.m., collecting donations for the refuge. Anyone who donates
\nthat day will be eligible to win a free couples ticket to the Gala.<\/p>\n
Founded in 2006 by veterinarian Dr. Jessica Braun, the refuge began as a domestic
\nanimal shelter and wildlife rehabilitation center in Hays. It operated through Dr.
\nBraun\u2019s veterinary clinic, the Animal Health Center, until she closed her practice in
\n2011 to focus on other career opportunities.<\/p>\n
This non-profit organization is now led by the elected director, McCampbell, along
\nwith a team of volunteers. In the spring of 2013, after months of fundraising and
\nrenovations, the refuge opened at its current location near Ellis,in \u00a0the donated
\nKopfman-Petco Foundation Animal Shelter building.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always loved animals and began volunteering at the refuge with Dr. Braun
\nwhen I was in high school,\u201d McCampbell said.<\/p>\n
Since its founding, the refuge has helped improve the lives of more than 1,500 animals.
\nThe mission of the refuge is \u201cto foster respect for all creatures, domestic and wild. \u201c The
\nRefuge is \u201cdedicated to helping animals and local community by providing shelter,
\nfoster, rehabilitation, adoption, and outreach services.\u201d<\/p>\n
To donate to the refuge or for more information on the organization, go to To make a donation to the Gala raffle or for more information on the Gala, contact -Special to T.M.N. by Kara Hackney Looking for a new way to spend Valentine\u2019s Day? Want to find a way to give back to the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3397,11],"tags":[814,810,816,817,815,812,811,813],"class_list":["post-4796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-area-news","category-news","tag-hays-arts-center","tag-hillside","tag-k10","tag-kara-hackney","tag-mccampbell","tag-refuge","tag-western-plains-animal-refuge","tag-wpar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4796"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4799,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4796\/revisions\/4799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nwww.westernplainsanimalrefuge.org<\/a> or mail donations to 1750 130th Ave., Ellis, KS
\n67637. Donations are tax deductible.<\/p>\n
\nLexi Copeland at lexinc1224@gmail.com or 785-259-6432. You can also visit the
\nWPAR website<\/a> or its Facebook page<\/a>. The Gala also has an event page on Facebook
\ntitled \u201cGrrrs and Prrrs Valentine Gala.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"