Vet Helps Others Give a Little, In a Big Way

At first glance, the looks like any other animal hospital.

Inside a few cats roam around and nuzzle next to your feet while a client sits in the waiting area with his black Labrador Retriever, ready for a check-up. But if you look close enough you’ll notice a sign on the reception desk that makes this hospital unique. It reads: “Charity of the Week.”

Dr. Katie Bertoglio has been working at the Morton Grove Animal Hospital for 11 years and has co-owned it with her husband for the past three, keeping pets healthy along the way. But it was this past February when she got the idea to help other animals in need, and people, on a larger scale.

Bertoglio decided to start a charity of the week program at the animal hospital, which allows her and her clients to donate whatever they can to a different charity every week. The idea stemmed from philanthropist and blogger Carlo Garica, who runs the blog “Living Philanthropic.”

In 2010, Garcia donated to a different charity every day in order to highlight the fact “that you don’t have to be rich in dollars to make a difference, you only need to be rich in spirit,” according to his mission statement.

“So he made a commitment to donate to one charity every day - five dollars or there abouts — and see if he could keep that commitment for a year,” Bertoglio said. “And he did, and I thought that was pretty neat.”

With plenty of clients around to spread the idea through word-of-mouth and a small donation jar on the front desk, charity of the week was born.

“We work with a lot of rescues and a lot of our clients are involved with certain charities,” she said. “We have children, our staff has children and we decided to do a charity a week and donate 10 dollars a week.”

Not only can clients donate at the hospital, but also through Crowdrise, an online fundraising platform for nonprofits and those looking to give. The Morton Grove Animal Hospital has its own Crowdrise group, which lists every charity it has donated to.

“We would sponsor things (in the past) but never just donated for the sake of donating,” she said. “I just think it’s overwhelming sometimes with all the charities that are out there, people just trying to do good, so we try to give them the tools to help make that happen.”

Through the Crowdrise page alone, they have helped 38 different projects and raised $1,245. The nonprofits are a mixture of everything from animal rescue related charities to the American Heart Association. In the coming weeks she will highlight Toys for Tots and the .

When she’s not giving check-ups to pets, Bertoglio is promoting the charity of the week online via Facebook and Crowdrise, or in the hospital. Next to the front desk is a sign describing the charity as well as a bowl of dog and cat treats for those who donate; homemade by a receptionist.

She added that having different groups of people joining in to fundraise makes the impact a little bit bigger. And watching the numbers grow is exciting.

“The clients like it,” she said. “Some clients come in regularly just to see what the charity is going to be, so it’s kind of fun.”

And ideas for new charities to help out often come from the clients themselves. Recently a woman suggested that Bertoglio find a charity supporting blind dogs, as she has one herself. Once a nonprofit was found, the client made a point to come in to donate.

As next year rolls around, Bertoglio plans on keeping the charity of the week program alive and stand by the “a little goes a long way” credo.

“I think we’re just looking for a little way to give back and support the community,” Bertoglio said. “These people are out doing this great work and we have the ability to do it and if we can bring some other people along then all the better.”