Branford Compassion Club loves moms so much that it’s giving them a chance to get wined and dined twice during Mother’s Day week with its Mama Meow Italian Buffet benefit, 6 p.m. Thursday, May 9 at Pompeo’s Restaurant, 485 W. Main St.
Doors open at 5:30 for the yummy event, which includes a silent auction, a raffle for a Dooney & Bourke handbag, some delectable edibles for Mother’s Day gift-giving and cash bar.
Tickets are $35, available by email at bccspecialevents32@gmail.com or by calling 203-444-0653. A limited amount will be sold at the door. Tickets are also available Saturdays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at BCC’s Feline Rescue and Adoption Center, 2037 Foxon Road, North Branford.
Proceeds benefit the nonprofit which cares for area homeless felines both in its North Branford facility, and in several area colonies, where BCC volunteers feed ferals deemed unadoptable. All food, medicine, supplies and veterinary bills for both the shelter and colony cats are funded through the generosity of those who donate or support BCC fundraisers which include bake sales, a Comedy Night, tag sale, the annual Animal Awareness Day on the Branford Green and other events.
Mother’s Day appropriately falls during the kitten season. But kittens are just a small part of the mission. The rescue stories are never ending no matter what the season. The reasons homeless feline moms and kittens come to be at the shelter are both heartwarming and heart-wrenching. It is BCC’s mission to find forever homes for these feline residents, who are cared for by BCC’s 80 dedicated volunteers.
To date, more than 1,800 cats have been adopted out of the shelter. That’s in addition to those for whom homes were found before the shelter opened in 2011.
Branford Compassion Club was founded in 1997 by a group of cat lovers as a grassroots organization to address the town’s homeless cat population. It was based on trap-neuter-release, which remains its foundation. After trapping, those felines deemed adoptable are taken to the shelter, while the others are returned to an area colony, where they are cared for daily by BCC volunteers.
BCC is open Saturdays from 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. at 2037 Foxon Road, North Branford, (203-483-6369). Volunteers are always needed. For more information, visit the website at www.branfordcompassionclub.org, or stop by in person. Send questions to contact_us@branfordcompassionclub.org.