As the leaves begin to turn and the weather begins to cool in Colorado, tie-dyed T-shirts and bandanas popping with color will be created when the annual donation drive for the Weld County Humane Society takes place at the Weld Community Credit Union. The event that raises donations for the furry friends at the Humane Society while spinning tie-dyed clothing into funding has been dubbed the Woofstock event for the past two years.
Woofstock began in 2021 when the Weld Community Credit Union picked a non-profit for its Jeans For a Cause program. Jeans For a Cause happens once a month and is where members choose a nonprofit to help out for two weeks. In 2021, they picked the Weld County Humane Society. According to Weld County Credit Union's Kristen Campbell, marketing specialist, and Jolene Yates, marketing director, they realized the Humane Society needed more help and decided to launch a donation event.
Campbell and Yates’ team worked with the Weld County Humane Society to jump into creating the event. They bounced ideas off of each other and soon came up with a 1970s-themed event that involved tie-dye and donations. In Woofstock’s first year, 150 T-shirts were made and sold for the fundraiser. In their second year, the event included tie-dyed bandanas.
In 2022, the rain moved the venue of the event to the inside of the Credit Union. Winnie the Pooch, a dog brought to the event from the Humane Society, greeted guests at the door with a wagging tail and a smile as he lead people from booth to booth. Campbell and Yates explain that by the end of the day, the dog had been adopted.
“We were all cheering when we heard that by the end of the day Winnie the Pooch had a forever home,” Yates says.
The Credit Union has worked to create a sense of community and encouragement in Weld County. They strive to help groups like the Humane Society and bring awareness to groups’ presence and needs. Yates explains that the Credit Union's core values are “people helping people or people helping pets,” as in the case of Woofstock. It believes in helping the community through events like Woofstock and in everyday work at the Credit Union.
“It's a sense of community and that's obviously who we are as Weld Community Credit Union,” Campbell says. “It is just a community event. It's what it's all about.”
As a neighborhood event, many people come together to make it a success, Campbell describes that they had a pet photographer for pet portraits, two DJs who volunteer their time to work at the event and sponsors like Ambriz The Broker and J&T Feeds pet store. All sponsors and volunteers help to make the event happen.
With a passion to help the community of Weld County, the Credit Union plans to continue to work with the Larimer Humane Society when the Weld County Humane Society transfers its assets to Larimer in October 2023, following its dissolvement. Yates explains that the Credit Union will continue to support Weld County animals. “We will work with the Larimer Humane Society to earmark the funds we raise and items we gather to be used in Weld County,” Yates says.
This year’s Woofstock will be held on September 9 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Weld Community Credit Union. The Humane Society is looking for items such as dog food, cat food, dog and cat toys (washable), stuffed animals (without plastic eyes or noses), blankets, towels, pet beds, ice cube trays, empty egg cartons, cracker/cereal boxes, paper grocery bags, canned green beans (low/no salt), canned pumpkin and monetary donations. Come take part in the tie-dye fun to support Weld County animals.
“We were all cheering when we heard that by the end of the day, Winnie the Pooch had a forever home," Jolene Yates