Imagine being surrounded by six one-day old kittens and your only job is to play with them and give them love and affection. This is exactly what ODA junior Sydney Koffman has been doing for the past four years.

Back in the eighth grade, Koffman got involved with an organization called Be the Change. Koffman and her mother had gone to a woman’s house one day to look into buying a kitten for her brother’s birthday. While there, the woman asked Koffman if she would be interested in fostering kittens. Koffman had been thinking about getting involved in fostering for a while and figured this was her perfect opportunity.

Koffman took the leap and began fostering six kittens in her home. From there, she would raise the  kittens until they were around twelve months old, and then she would begin to find homes for these loving creatures.

After all the kittens she was currently raising were placed in homes, the woman who runs the fostering program would call Koffman with more kittens for her to pick up.

“I’ve only ever gotten attached to one [kitten] and I still kind of keep in touch with the owner of him” Koffman said when asked if it’s ever hard giving the kittens up.

Koffman and her mother Donna were approached in September by Gisele Pintchuck, the Executive Director of the Animal Rescue Coalition (ARC) and were asked to co-chair their annual gala. The Koffman women took on the role, and began to plan the fundraiser.

While the purpose of the event is to raise money for ARC, the main focus this year is to put the money towards their Emergency Medical Fund (EMF). The EMF goes out to wooded areas where groups of homeless cats live in “colonies” and spays and neuters the cats.

The gala will take place on February 21st, 2015 at the Michael’s on East Ballroom. Although invitations were sent out to many people, tickets to the gala are also available to the public. To purchase tickets, or to learn more about the event please visit the ARC website, or contact Gisele Pintchuck by emailing her at [email protected]

Koffman has always been well-known in the Sarasota community for being a big animal rights activist. Koffman said, “Animals have always been a big passion in my life,” and when asked if she would continue to be involved with animal rescue for year to come, Koffman responded saying, “most definitely!”