10/11/2026
🐾❤️ WOW. JUST WOW. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE NIGHT!!! ❤️🐾
I am honestly still trying to process just how amazing last night was!! 🥹❤️
Our preliminary total is in, and we raised approximately $9,000 FOR OUR KITTIES!!! 🐱🎉💰
NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! I am absolutely blown away by the generosity, kindness, and support that surrounded Phoenix and Friends Cat Rescue last night. I don’t even know if I have the words to express just how grateful I am. What an incredibly successful evening, and it’s all because of YOU!
There are SO many people to thank, and I’m going to do my best to recognize everyone who helped make this night possible. ❤️
🐾 South Wilmerding Social Club — THANK YOU for graciously allowing us to use your space, for keeping everyone’s drinks flowing, and for making and selling Jell-O shots! 🍻 And a HUGE special thank-you to Ashley, Taylor, and Teresa for all your hard work and help throughout the evening! We appreciate everything you did to help make our event such a success. We are so grateful for your hospitality, generosity, and support! ❤️🐾
🐾 West Wilmerding Fire Hall — Thank you for lending us ALL of your tables and chairs and for helping Steve load everything up! You helped us tremendously!
⛪❤️ Holy Angels Church in Wilmerding — A HUGE thank-you for coming through for us at the very last minute and generously lending us your chairs! We were in a pinch, and you didn’t hesitate to help us out! Your kindness and willingness to help at a moment’s notice meant so much to us and helped make sure we had enough seating for our incredible turnout! We are SO grateful for your support! ❤️🐾
🐾 Pasquales Pizzeria Wilmerding — Where do I even begin?! Thank you for sponsoring our event, donating a gift certificate, providing the salad and dressing for dinner, AND coming out to support us in person! Your generosity means so much to us! ❤️
🧹❤️ A Lil Extra Cleaning LLC — A HUGE thank-you for donating the wonderful cleaning baskets for our raffles! They were such a fantastic addition to our event, and we are so grateful for your generosity and support! ❤️
🐾 Greenvalley B**r Distributor— Thank you for generously donating the keg of Miller Lite! 🍻
🐾 Favens Auto Detailing — Thank you for donating a gift certificate for our raffles!
🐾 UPMC — Thank you for the amazing autographed Brian Rust jersey! And a special thank-you to Brittany for coordinating that donation! 🏒
🐾 To EVERY SINGLE PERSON who donated a raffle basket — I don’t think you understand how incredible you all are! We had OVER 100 BASKETS!!! We actually had so many that we couldn’t even fit them all and had to take some home! 😂 That is an AMAZING problem to have, and it speaks volumes about the generosity of this community. Whether you donated one basket or several, THANK YOU!
🐾 To everyone who donated gift cards for our grand prize — Thank you for helping us put together such an incredible prize! We appreciate every single contribution!
🎶 To our DJ, Tammy — Thank you for keeping the music going, making the night fun, and helping us with absolutely everything along the way! We appreciate you so much!
🎨❤️ To Riley — THANK YOU for creating our absolutely AWESOME banner!!! What a beautiful addition to our event! It was such a special touch and helped make everything look even more amazing! You are SO incredibly talented, and we are beyond grateful that you shared your creativity with us! We absolutely LOVED it!!! ❤️🐾
🐱 To Theresa — Thank you for bringing your AMAZING handmade kitty creations and for jumping right in to volunteer! From setting up to everything in between, you were such a huge help, and I’m so grateful!
❤️ To my incredible volunteers, Becky, Cherie, and Pat — You guys are AMAZING! You came to hang out and had absolutely NO idea you were going to end up serving food! 😂 But when you saw we needed extra hands, you didn’t hesitate for a second. You jumped right in and made sure things got done. That kind of willingness to help, without even being asked, means more to me than you know. THANK YOU!!! ❤️❤️❤️
❤️ To our friend Kimberly Border — THANK YOU for coming out and helping us man the raffle tables, even while dealing with a MAJOR cat bite! OUCH!!! 😬🐱❤️ Most people would’ve stayed home, but not you! You still showed up and helped us keep everything running smoothly. Now THAT is dedication! 😂 We appreciate you so much, and I hope that bite heals quickly! ❤️
❤️ To my friend Sarah— Thank you SO much for coming out and helping us set everything up! There was SO much to get done, and having another set of helping hands made such a difference! I truly appreciate you taking time out of your day to help us get everything ready for the big night! ❤️🐾
❤️ To Joe Kleppick and Scotty Lowden — THANK YOU both for jumping in at the end of the night and helping us tear down all those tables! After such a long evening, having some extra muscle to help with cleanup was a HUGE relief! We appreciate you guys so much! ❤️💪
❤️ To Sierra — A HUGE thank-you for staying after the event and helping us clean everything up! After such a long, busy evening, I can’t even begin to tell you how much it meant to have you stick around and lend a hand. By that point, we were all exhausted, and having someone willing to stay until the work was done was such a blessing! We appreciate you more than you know! THANK YOU!!! ❤️🐾
❤️ To my mom Nora Schultz— I don’t even know where to start. You completely overdid it (as usual 😂), making ALL those meatballs and the majority of the sauce! But that was just the beginning. From helping me plan and prepare, loading the car, setting up, getting food ready, working registration, making baskets, and being there from start to finish…you did it ALL. I know how much time, energy, and love you poured into this event, and I hope you know how much I appreciate you. I truly couldn’t have done this without you. I love you! ❤️
❤️ To my mother-in-law — Thank you so much for giving your time to help with registration and for making such beautiful raffle baskets! I’m so grateful for your love and support!
🎤 To my brother-in-law, Bobby — Our event MC AGAIN!!! You have officially earned yourself a permanent position! 😂 Thank you for all your hard work, for helping get baskets to the hall, for keeping everyone entertained and engaged throughout the evening, and for being there to set up, clean up, and tackle everything in between! You are such a huge part of making these events successful, and I appreciate you more than you know!
❤️ To my sister Mel Smirga, niece Elena, and brother-in-law Ron— Thank you for helping with the 50/50, handling baskets, and jumping into the kitchen to help prepare food! I appreciate you all so much!
🎂 To Patti’s in White Oak — THANK YOU for the absolutely BEAUTIFUL and DELICIOUS cake!!! And for everyone who was asking, it was white almond cake with raspberry filling! 🤤 It was every bit as delicious as it looked!
🌟 To ALL of our incredible event sponsors — Your support helps make events like this possible. Thank you for believing in our mission, supporting our rescue, and helping us continue doing this work for the cats who need us most. We appreciate every single one of you!
❤️ And to my husband, Steve Minnaji…
Thank you for putting up with me these last few weeks. 😂❤️
Life has been incredibly stressful, and preparing for this event on top of everything else has been A LOT. You’ve been patient, supportive, understanding, and willing to do whatever needed done, even when I’m sure you wanted to run in the opposite direction. 😂
You’ve dealt with the chaos, the endless to-do lists, the stress, the running around, and probably a few meltdowns along the way. Through it all, you’ve been amazing. I honestly could not do any of this without you by my side. I love you so much, and I’m so grateful for everything you do for me and for this rescue. ❤️
🐾 AND LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST…TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO CAME OUT LAST NIGHT!!!
WOW!!! WHAT A TURNOUT!!! 🥹❤️
Whether you bought tickets, purchased raffle tickets, participated in the 50/50, donated, volunteered, or simply came to spend your evening supporting our rescue, THANK YOU.
I hope you all had as much fun as we did!!
I know sometimes people see a fundraiser and think it’s just a fun night out with food, drinks, and raffle baskets. And while we absolutely want everyone to have a great time, these events mean SO much more to us.
That approximately $9,000 is going to make a REAL difference for the cats in our care and the countless others who still need us.
And here’s something I’m especially excited about…
BECAUSE OF YOUR GENEROSITY, WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO COMPLETELY FINISH OUR CAT ROOM!!! 🐱🏠❤️🎉
This has been something we’ve been working toward, and knowing that we can finally get it finished is such an incredible feeling. Having a dedicated, completed space for our rescue kitties means so much. It means a more comfortable, safe, and welcoming environment for the cats who come through our doors while they wait for their forever homes.
And YOU are helping make that happen!!! 🥹❤️
Beyond our cat room, these funds will also help us continue our mission of providing spay and neuter surgeries, emergency veterinary care, food, medications, and supplies. It’s helping community cats who have nobody else looking out for them. It’s giving abandoned, neglected, and forgotten kitties a chance at a better life.
Every basket donated, every ticket purchased, every hour volunteered, and every dollar contributed helps us continue that mission.
Running a small, home-based rescue is not easy. There are long days, sleepless nights, heartbreaking situations, and expenses that never seem to end. But then we have a night like last night, and I’m reminded just how many incredible people are standing behind us and cheering us on.
We may be a small rescue, but last night proved that we have one MIGHTY community behind us!!! ❤️🐾
From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for believing in Phoenix and Friends Cat Rescue, for believing in what we do, and for helping us give these kitties the lives they deserve.
I’m exhausted, emotional, overwhelmed, and so incredibly grateful. 🥹
WE DID IT!!! APPROXIMATELY $9,000 FOR THE KITTIES!!! 🎉🐈❤️
And if I accidentally missed thanking anyone, please know it was absolutely not intentional. There were so many hands that helped make this night possible, and I appreciate EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!
With so much love and gratitude,
Phoenix and Friends Cat Rescue 🐾❤️
