NEWINGTON, Conn. — The Connecticut Humane Society is hoping to bring in some much-needed donations as part of the "Betty White Challenge" on social media.
The late Betty White was a tireless lifetime advocate for animals, from caring for those without homes to launching her own weekly TV show, “The Pet Set,” dedicated to her celebrity friends and their pets.
Her most far-reaching contribution, though, may be yet to come: On Monday, fans of White will be poised to donate to animal welfare charities and shelters as part of what's been dubbed the #BettyWhiteChallenge. And animal welfare nonprofits are gearing up to capitalize on the viral tribute to the star of "Mary Tyler Moore," “The Golden Girls” and “Hot in Cleveland” on what would have been her 100th birthday.
"We love seeing how many people want to honor her in this way and just having her legacy live on through everyone who's donating and of course these animals who are now getting a fresh start," said Susan Wollschlager of the CT Humane Society.
The idea is to donate at least five dollars to any animal rescue or shelter. Wollschlager said those donations are a huge help because of medical cases coming into the humane society right now.
"We are seeing a lot of long-term pets lately, which has been interesting and it's because of medical needs that they're coming in with. We're seeing really bad skin allergies. We're seeing dogs who need surgeries on both of their knees so then they're going to be here for a long time," said Wollschlager.
People can donate to the CT Humane Society by visiting their Facebook page or website.
A Facebook fundraiser has already raised $1,790.
"Thank you to all of the donors out there and thank you to Betty White for being a friend," said Wollschlager.
Doug Stewart is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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