#ZealTheLove touches Woodhaven and Trenton Animal Shelter in unexpected ways

Livonia, MI (January 7, 2019) – The Woodhaven and Trenton Animal Shelter recently received a #ZealTheLove visit and donation from team members of Zeal Credit Union’s Woodhaven branch.

“Our #ZealTheLove initiative encourages employees to work together to support the charities that they feel most passionate about,” said Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Fawcett.

When team members of the Woodhaven branch were invited to select a local non-profit, they readily agreed it would be the local animal shelter.

According to team member Laura Spangler, they decided to raffle gift baskets as a fundraiser.

“Because we have six team members, we set a goal of six baskets,” said Spangler. “As soon as our members and local businesses heard what we were doing, they got excited and started giving us enough items to create and raffle 15 amazing gift baskets.”

The fundraiser resulted in a donation of $1,910 to the Woodhaven and Trenton Animal Shelter.

When branch staff visited the shelter to present the funds, they were greeted by Lora Schaller, the Woodhaven animal control officer, who introduced them to Mercy, a loveable pit bull terrier in need of a home. Mercy had been abused, abandoned, and brought in off the street.

While Mercy happily greeted the visitors, Schaller could see there was a special bond with Spangler, who shared that her family’s pet of 16 years had died the previous year. A potential adoption was in the works.

“I told Lora that we have two cats, and she said, ‘Mercy is good with cats.’ Then I said we have children, and she said, ‘Mercy is good with kids—they found her.’ She had an answer to every possible objection,” said Spangler, who agreed to discuss an adoption with her husband that evening.

Today, Mercy has a forever home with the Spangler family who renamed her Maisie, calling her “lazy Maisie.”  

Summing up the Woodhaven team’s #ZealTheLove initiative, Spangler said, “We all learned so much from this experience, and I received something more—a new family member.”

To learn about #ZealTheLove, visit ZealTheLove.com for additional stories and community partners.

Zeal Credit Union is a full-service, non-profit financial institution with more than 61,000 members, assets exceeding $570 million and 13 full-service branch offices in metro Detroit. Members also have access to more than 5,000 shared branches and nearly 30,000 ATMs nationwide. Member deposits are insured to $250,000 by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), a U.S. government agency. For more information about Zeal Credit Union, visit the credit union website www.ZealCreditUnion.org or call 800-321-8570.

Photo courtesy of Zeal Credit Union: Woodhaven Animal Control Officer Lora Schaller, at left, introduces the dog Mercy to Woodhaven team members Laura Spangler, kneeling, and from left, April Clark, Whitney Wood and Jacklyn Scealf during their #ZealTheLove visit and donation.