WEST SENECA, N.Y. — When the pandemic started, bartender Harlee Bendzula found herself out of work and admittedly bored. So, to occupy some of her time, she decided to start a Facebook auction page. She never imagined it would evolve into an operation collecting tens of thousands of dollars for local animal groups.
"I saw other people running groups like this for personal profit and I thought why not take something like that and do it for charity," said Bendzula, a mom from West Seneca.
Picking that charity was easy for her. Bendzula is a huge animal lover with two pitbulls and a one-eyed Persian cat. She decided all of the profits from her "Auctions for Animals" Facebook page, which has been up and running since June 2020, would go to the Erie County SPCA and smaller animal rescues.
"I think she approached me in April with the idea. In June she walked into our office with a check for $5,000 and I was completely blown away," said Caitlin Fager, Events Coordinator for the Erie County SPCA.
It turned out that was just the beginning. The premise is simple: Bendzula posts the auction items like local gift cards, grills, patio furniture, cash, and even vacation packages. Then people pay for a limited number of spots in the auction. Spots range from $5 to $50 depending on the value of the prize and chances of winning. Bendzula spins a virtual wheel twice weekly to pick the winners and the items are shipped to their homes. The page has grown to 2,400 members. The amount she's donated has grown to $60,000.
Bendzula says she has split approximately $7,000 among smaller animal rescues like Black Dog Second Chance, Be Their Voice, and a rescue in Jackson, Tennessee. She's also funded emergency care for animals whose owners can't afford it. In all, Bendzula says she's given $53,000 to the Erie County SPCA.
"Her impact has just been phenomenal, especially in a time like this. We're community base funded. So for her to come in with all of these donations means so much to us," said Fager. "To put it in perspective, what Harlee is raising is close to sometimes what our signature fundraisers can bring in. Those big events that we do every year, but haven't been able to do because of the pandemic. So she is offsetting that and helping us in major major ways."
Her impact is more than just dollars and cents. When the SPCA has a hard time adopting out certain animals that might be less desirable or have special needs, Bendzula posts them on her page and her followers step up to help.
"She is just an all around wonderful animal advocate for us," said Fager.
Bendzula never imagined her little idea out of boredom would turn into something this big, but she's so glad it has.
"I'm happy it's going somewhere good, and I'm happy if people are "gambling" per-se then at least it's for a good cause."
Visit the Auctions for Animals page here.
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