A coffee blend chosen by the community
River has a new job in Birdsboro: appearing on a bag of coffee. Birdie has one, too, on a signature tea blend. The two rescue dogs were selected through the Animal Rescue League of Berks County’s annual Pet Portrait Fundraiser, a project that combined volunteer-made art, community donations and a little friendly competition. Their portraits now give a local animal-welfare effort a familiar face. (berksweekly.app)
River, owned by Ruth Hafer of West Lawn, received 3,472 votes and was chosen for the coffee packaging. Birdie, an Animal Rescue League alum owned by Sue Gerhart of Mohnton, was selected for the tea. The winning animals were not chosen through a conventional ballot: people voted for their favorite portraits by making donations, with the money raised supporting the rescue league’s work for animals in need. (berksweekly.app)
Portraits, votes and a practical way to help
The fundraiser began with pet owners commissioning custom portraits of their animals. Local volunteer artists created the artwork in a range of styles and media. The finished portraits were displayed in an art show at Alvernia University, where members of the community could support their favorites through donations. In the process, a personal celebration of companion animals became a source of direct support for a rescue organization.
That structure gave people several ways to participate. Artists contributed time and skill. Pet owners put their animals forward. Neighbors decided which portraits would lead the project, while their donations helped the Animal Rescue League care for animals. The fundraiser’s appeal is partly creative, but it is also straightforward: people could support the organization through a small vote, a piece of volunteer work or a purchase connected to the finished project.
The dogs’ portraits became products
The coffee and tea blends were unveiled Saturday, September 12, at Reading Coffee Company in Birdsboro. Berks Weekly reported that guests could sample the new blends, learn about the dogs featured on the packaging and purchase bags to take home. The event also included Animal Rescue League merchandise, dog-enrichment activities and food available from the coffee company. (berksweekly.app)
The rescue league’s event listing had invited supporters to the September 12 gathering at Reading Coffee Company, describing it as a pet-friendly celebration of the new blends and the Pet Portrait Fundraiser. That listing also identified tastings, merchandise, enrichment activities and time for animal lovers to connect as part of the planned program. (berksarl.org)
The combination matters because the fundraiser did not end when the art show or unveiling was over. The portraits moved into an everyday setting: a kitchen counter, a morning mug, a pot of tea shared with a visitor. According to Berks Weekly, the signature blends are available through the year at the Animal Rescue League, with proceeds from each bag sold benefiting animals in the organization’s care. (berksweekly.app)
A small project with a long afterlife
There is no need for the coffee or tea to stand for more than it can do. Buying a bag will not resolve every challenge facing a rescue organization. What it can do is provide an accessible way for supporters to keep contributing after the fundraiser’s voting period and unveiling have passed.
It also keeps the human work visible. Behind River and Birdie’s labels are volunteer artists who made the portraits, pet owners who commissioned them, neighbors who donated to vote and a local business that hosted the unveiling and helped turn the artwork into something people could use. The result is less a single grand gesture than a chain of modest contributions that fit together.
River and Birdie were chosen because people responded to their portraits. Now those portraits can invite an entirely different response: a pause over a bag of coffee, a cup of tea offered to a friend, and a reminder that animal care can be supported through creative projects woven into ordinary community life.
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