When you step into Gio Fund for the first time, you can immediately tell how much love is present in every square foot of the building. A cozy thrift shop, amazing event center, smiling faces at every turn, and an inspirational goal makes this non-profit what it is.
Gio Fund is a non-profit organization run by Chris Rogers that focuses on the welfare of animals, both in homes and in the shelter. The nonprofit was meaningfully named after the Rogers family’s beloved dog Gio, who passed away over a decade ago from heartworms. The family has always cared for animals, and it first started with fostering multiple dogs in their home at a time and starting their own program. Once they moved to North Carolina, they kept going with their aspirations and opened up a thrift shop. It quickly expanded, and they moved across the street to their current location, and now had both a thrift shop and an event center to raise money for their cause.
The nonprofit’s mission is to guarantee that animals are fed, sheltered, and happy in their home. They serve around 325 families in their pet food pantry, assuring that pets can stay with their owners during financial hardships, instead of them having to be rehomed. They also have a behavioral program that adjusts the relationship between animals and people, and they have a 100% success rate. They also partner with many different organizations, like Fix-A-Friend and Wilmington Animal Centrix, in order to help the animals in any way possible. This has been very beneficial because pets get to stay in their loving homes despite any hardships that they come across.
Money is raised in two main ways: the thrift shop and the event center. The event center was a new edition to Gio Fund once they moved their location, and it has proven to be very successful. These events work smoothly, not just because of Chris’ work on the front lines, but also because of the behind-the-scenes work that his wife Loretta does. They have all kinds of popular events, ranging from Karaoke Tuesdays, Local Band Wednesdays, or Murder Mystery Nights. They also hold private events on the weekends. Chris Rogers is proud that the community can gather and have an exciting time for the benefit of a good cause, and listening to him tell the stories of the events that have happened could put a smile on anyone’s face. You can tell how much love is put into this, for the benefit of both the community and the animals that they serve.
One particularly exciting event coming up is called “PuptoberFest” which will take place during the weekend of October 11-13. It will start on Friday with exciting music, Saturday will be full of excitement with an auction on Saturday morning, followed by a comedy show in the night, and finally Sunday will have a live band and food. The community should definitely consider visiting for a weekend of entertainment where all the proceeds will go into the nonprofit’s good cause!
While Gio Fund has many different actions and accomplishments that they are proud of, they also have one goal for their future: to open their own shelter. Chris Rogers wants to be able to pull dogs immediately during any time of need so he can help them as fast as he can. After all the work that the nonprofit has done and all the other organizations that they have partnered with, this seems like the perfect next step that will help the entire community continue to collaborate for the benefit of animals in need.
The next question is: how can the community help Gio Fund? While Gio Fund is always helping the community, they also rely on the community in order to keep doing what they are doing. You could always help by donating pet food (it can be opened), donating merchandise for the thrift store, or donating any kind of fabric (clothes, blankets, towels.) You could also buy a Gio Card for $30, which goes towards the rescue! This will get you 20% off any thrift store purchase, $5 off any event, $25 off of a room rental, and many other 3rd party sponsor deals. This is a great deal that lasts a whole year and benefits both you and the animals.
Gio Fund is an amazing nonprofit that focuses on the welfare of animals, and if you ever want to help out you can come shop at the thrift store, donate, or attend one of the fun events. Gio Fund is located at 117 Village Road and is open 7 days a week from 10 AM – 5 PM. This hardworking nonprofit is a welcoming place that is always open to helping out animals and their families, and raising community spirits. Please consider visiting Gio Fund to help out their amazing cause!
