Rhonda Eldridge shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Rhonda, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Integrity. I always tell my son that the greatest gift I can leave him is a sense of ethics, morals and values. Those are parts of you that will win you great success and at the same time great great sorrow.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
We are a local 501(c)3 nonprofit in Hillsborough County.
Our mission is to assist the pets of the low income, homeless and veterans by providing basic needs to keep the pets happy, healthy and with their owners.
We also have multiple programs aimed at keeping pets safe and protected.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
When I was first put in charge of CPP attending quarterly outreaches, I really saw the world for the first time.
Seeing how many people struggle with basic needs such as food and clothing, made me realize that everyone can do something to help others.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Community Pet Project struggles with finding volunteers and funding to support our mission.
We do not qualify for most pet related grants because we do not foster or adopt pets. We aim to keep in their homes and there are not grants for that.
I think about giving up frequently because we can’t help all those requests that we receive. We struggle with fundraising. Then we get a post it note on our door saying thanks for everything that we do.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
What matters to me most is morals, values and ethics.
These are the greatest gifts that we can leave future generations.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I think so. I just told my son never say “I’ll never need to know that.”
I never planned running a nonprofit, totally not on my radar. I fell into in and I love what we do. Giving back means the world to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.communitypetproject.org
- Instagram: CommunityPetProject
- Linkedin: Community Pet Project
- Facebook: CommunityPetProject
