UPDATE

After the holidays, the Veterinary Industry Giving Tree is still in full swing, with 1,211 members and a total of $7,189 raised. These donations were distributed to 38 families and individuals in need, turning what must have been a stressful holiday season for many into one full of light and hope. 

Beckie Mossor, founder of this project, along with co-creators, Crystal Vaquera and Lily Preston, has big plans to bring this Facebook Group to the next level. For 2021, they plan to continue accepting donations throughout the year, with a big push during the holiday season to give around that time once again. They are looking into setting up Amazon Smile, which will give a portion of the donations to the charity of their choice. Finally, the trio is pushing towards formalizing an official 501c3 and establishing procedures for nominating and donating. 

Check out some of the heart-melting recipient reactions:

“I wanted to say Thank you for helping my family out! Our life has been a little stressful since March 2020. My husband has severe asthma and has not been able to work since March... it’s been hard with his medical bills, medicine, etc. We are doing the best we can to keep our heads up! Thank you to those who gave in a time of need! We appreciate it so much!” 

“I hope and pray next year I will be in a better position to give and to help spread cheer to those facing struggles. Thank-you all whom gave, not just to me, but to others in this industry who are struggling too. You all are an amazing group of people. I hope next year this group will be even more successful and to continue to keep growing.” 

ORIGINAL STORY (November 10th, 2020)

One afternoon in October, Beckie Mossor, RVT stumbled across a Facebook video that would soon inspire her to create something beyond words for the veterinary community. 

In the video, children at the Boys and Girls Club were asked what they wanted for Christmas, and then what their parents would want. When both gifts arrived they were asked to only choose one, and most children chose to keep their parent’s gifts. “It made me sob,” Beckie said, “and it made me want to get all the toys for all the kids.” Thus, the idea behind the Veterinary Industry Giving Tree was born, in which members can nominate individuals, families, or themselves to be one of the receivers of donations, and can also volunteer to give. 

Beckie shared the video on her page, toying with the idea of starting a giving tree in order to give to the families in need during the holidays. When two people in her comments told her to go for it, that was enough convincing she needed. She got right to work and created a Facebook page without any idea of what would come next or how this would look. It immediately caught on like wildfire and even made the two people in her comments (Crystal Vaquera and Lily Preston) admins of the page for some help.

Their goal is to turn around what has been a “pretty horrible 2020” for many people and to help shed a little bit of joy, brightness, or ease. The response the page has seen so far has been nothing short of extraordinary. “I know a lot of these people don’t have a lot of extra money, the even more heartwarming part is they’re pumped to give,” she says. 

The Veterinary Industry Giving Tree now has over 1,000 total members, with 40 members in need (individuals and families), 150 who have pledged to give, and about 60 who have given so far. They’ve raised just over $3,000 since the page was first started on October 25th, 2020.

“There are technicians who are fighting cancer. There are people whose spouses were veterinarians and have passed due to suicide and this is going to be the family’s first holiday without them. There are people who have lost their jobs due to COVID. And these people are giving 110% all day long to care for animals—to care for the people who care for animals—and do really, really hard things all day and then go fight these kinds of battles at home,” Beckie says, describing the individuals and families in need.

While the deadline to nominate a family or individual who needs help has ended, it’s super easy to donate and be a part of the Veterinary Industry Giving Tree:

• Join the Facebook Group

• Purchase either an Amazon, Target, Walmart, Visa, or MasterCard gift card (you can purchase all through Amazon). Give whatever you can. 

• Email the card to veterinarygivingtree@gmail.com

Everyone needs help, but not everyone wants to ask for it. The Giving Tree makes it possible for those who can use some extra help for the holidays to get the help they deserve while allowing those who give for the sake of giving, give whatever they can.

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