Things we dislike: parking tickets. Things we like: helping the animals. Things we definitely like: being able to pay off parking tickets with donations to the animal shelter.
It’s not a ridiculous idea, either. The police department in Muncie, Indiana, led a wildly successful four-day campaign to let people in town pay off their parking tickets with donations, and the results will definitely make you smile.
From July 15-19, police allowed residents to pay their parking tickets with a donation of equal value to a local animal shelter. For instance, if you got a $30 parking ticket, you could donate $30 of cat food. Police explained the deal in a Facebook video that has since been viewed over 35,000 times and shared hundreds of times.
The police department partnered with the Muncie Animal Care and Services Shelter after learning that the shelter was running dangerously low on supplies for the 350 cats housed there.
“A lot of people have donated cat food and litter this week! Most of these people didn’t even have a parking ticket,” Muncie Police wrote in a post on Twitter. “We are glad this week’s unique promotion helped spread the word!”
A lot of people have donated cat food and litter this week! Most of these people didn't even have a parking ticket
. @MuncieACS can always use pet supplies! We are glad this this week’s unique promotion helped spread the word! Thanks Muncie!#petsofinstagram #Muncie pic.twitter.com/GWvtmKMraR
— Muncie Police (@MunciePolice) July 19, 2019
The shelter was incredibly grateful for the outpouring of donations, especially because this time of year is known as “kitten season” — a time when many mother cats give birth, and shelters are overwhelmed.
“I don’t know if the police department plans on doing this again, but we’re incredibly grateful to them and the community. Their response was overwhelming,” Ashley Honeycutt, the shelter’s office manager, told CNN in an interview.
The police department posted even more photos of the piles of supplies that came to the shelter during the campaign, writing, “This room was almost empty before we started!”
We greatly appreciate everyone that donated supplies this week to the Muncie Animal Care & Services. This room was…
Posted by Muncie Police Department on Friday, July 19, 2019
This hasn’t been the only instance of police offering the option to pay off parking tickets with a good deed. Earlier this year, Las Vegas drivers got the chance to pay their tickets via donations of school supplies, and in 2016, they let people pay tickets with toy donations for the holiday season.
Even if you don’t have a parking ticket to pay, animal shelters are always looking for donations of food, litter, old towels and other supplies. Check with your local shelter to see what they need — many have a wishlist on their websites.
If you stop by to drop off donations, you might end up coming home with a new furry friend … and that wouldn’t be so terrible, would it?
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