Volunteer of the Week: Kasey Shelley from Clondalkin
By Aura McMenamin
This week we meet Kasey Shelley, who has thrown herself into fundraising for two vital animal welfare groups in the local area – Clondalkin Animal Aid and My Lovely Horse Rescue.
The 27-year-old Kasey has been living in Clondalkin for almost all her life. She spoke to us about her involvement in animal welfare and interest in the arts.
Shelley organised Clondalkin Unplugged in July, a music and spoken word night in the Steering Wheel Pub, which saw musicans, poets and writers perform to fundraise for Clondalkin Animal Aid.
With a modest suggested donation of €5 for entry, Clondalkin Unplugged managed to raise almost €800.
Next month, Kasey is taking on an even larger venue: the Red Cow Moran’s Hotel for a pub quiz based on the cult TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Kasey explained why she began volunteering with the charity.
“I came into contact with Clondalkin Animal Aid after our dog went missing and they helped us find him.
“I would be on Facebook and see that they posted a lot of appeals for people to take in animals, or appeals for supplies. So, back in March or April, I decided I would try and raise money for them.”
She previously organised Clondalkin Unplugged in July, a music and spoken word night in the Steering Wheel Pub, which saw musicians, poets and writers perform to fundraise for Clondalkin Animal Aid.
Kasey took on the project, booking the venue, sourcing prizes for a raffle and turning to writers groups such as Library After Dark and the Mill Lane’s Writers’ Group from Palmerstown.
Clondalkin Unplugged managed to raise almost €800. Kasey said the idea came from her own involvement in the arts: “The spoken word I perform is usually about most things a woman could relate to: body image, mental health, living in Dublin…dating.
“There’s a lot of creative talent in Clondalkin. I saw this as a good opportunity for local writers and poets to show that and raise money for Clondalkin Animal Aid.”
Next month, Kasey is taking on an even larger venue: the Red Cow Moran’s Hotel for a pub quiz based on the cult TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The LGBT-friendly event will donate the money raised to Clondalkin Animal Aid and My Lovely Horse Rescue, a Rathfarnham-based group that frequently answer calls to abused and abandoned horses in Clondalkin.
Kasey said: “I see a lot of posts on Facebook about how they’ve helped abandoned horses, but also articles on sites like The Echo about cases some volunteers were even being abused and chased while they were tending to abandoned horses.”
“It’s crazy that anybody would be willing to abuse an animal.”
In terms of Ireland, her pub quiz certainly has a niche theme, but Kasey said she hopes it will attract the show’s many fans.
She said: “Well my idea is to raise €25,000. That might be optimistic! I’d be happy to achieve a goal of €2,000 on the night.
Kasey thanked the community in Clondalkin for the support she’s received: “People in Clondalkin are great – when I went looking for prizes or sponsorship or prizes, the minute I mentioned Clondalkin Animal Aid, people were so giving and generous.
“When Rachel (one of the Animal Aid volunteers) posts an appeal for supplies, or asks for help transporting an animal from one place to another, this gets sorted almost immediately. People in Clondalkin are so willing to help.”
