To raise money for True Blue Animal Rescue, Sigma Alpha Mu’s second annual Sammy’s Bark-B-Que philanthropy event will be held March 31 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Bark-B-Que will be held at the Sigma Alpha Mu House on 550 Fraternity Row in College Station. A ticket to the event is $5 beforehand from a Sigma Alpha Mu member, or $7 at the door. There will be carnival games as well as a silent auction. Attendees can purchase a shirt for $10 at the event. All proceeds go directly to True Blue Animal Rescue.
The first Sammy’s Bark-Q-Que was held in 2018 and raised more than $2,000 for Urgent Animals of Hearne. This year the proceeds are benefiting True Blue Animal Rescue. This non-profit organization operates on a no kill animal rescue and continuously works on rehabilitating animals to get them healthy enough to be adopted. They were established in 2004 and are located in Brenham, running solely on donations and grants.
International studies sophomore Jake Brooks is the philanthropy chair for Sigma Alpha Mu and said approximately 250 people attended Bark-B-Que last year. This year they are hoping to have even more.
“Sigma Alpha Mu chose this philanthropy event because everyone loves puppies and dogs, so who wouldn’t want to come and be able to pet them, play with them and just have fun,” Brooks said. “We were brainstorming and we figured that this would be a great way to help out a local organization and help them get their dogs adopted.”
Zack Pokroy, psychology sophomore and philanthropy committee member, said last year’s Bark-B-Que had 15 dogs available for adoption. This year, there will be as many as 20 dogs.
“My favorite part of Bark-B-Que is seeing all the puppies the rescue group brings out,” Pokroy said. “I was there last year, we had numerous puppies in this small playpen and they were adorable.”
Management information systems sophomore and Vice President Brian Kaner said he looks forward to hosting this event and that many other members of Sigma Alpha Mu are as well.
“At the Bark B Que last year, a friend of mine went into the event saying that he was never going to adopt a dog at the event,” Kaner said. “30 minutes later, he had adopted a dog.”
One of the other opportunities taking place at this event is the ability to adopt a dog. All of the animals are spayed or neutered and vaccinated before being adopted. If the animal is too young to have been already, then a certificate for a free spay or neuter and rabies shot will be given for when the dog is old enough.
“There are no documents required to bring but the handlers of the dogs will be able to provide any documents needed for those who wish to adopt the dogs/puppies,” Pokry said.
Kaner said True Blue Animal Rescue operates in foster homes, so Sammy’s Bark-B-Que allows the rescue group to showcase dogs up for adoption.
“Even if you don’t plan on adopting a dog, you can still play with the cute foster puppies,” Kaner said.