Brunswick girls make bracelets to benefit local cat rescue

BRUNSWICK — A group of local teenage girls and their moms recently started making and selling bracelets to help the cats and kittens at a rescue in Brunswick. Sandy Liberatore runs Paws and Claws Cat Rescue, which started around five years ago and became a nonprofit last January. The rescue takes in and cares for cats in need. "We get them spayed or neutered and get them vaccinated," she said. "We provide medical care, food and shelter, and we find them new homes. Some are here for a short period of time, and some of them are here for a long period of time." Providing for the animals takes a lot of funds, Liberatore said. The organization has fosters to help, but Paws and Claws still provides the food and medical care for the cats. "Because there's so many shelters, everybody's looking for donations, and so there's very little to go around," she said. "It's a little bit of a struggle sometimes with working a full-time job and doing this just to maintain everything." Megan Sidley, 13, said her family developed a connection to Paws and Claws after they adopted two cats a few years prior. "They didn't have enough money to provide for fixing the cats and food and stuff," she said. "We thought it would be a good idea to start helping out and making bracelets to sell to make money for them." Her mom, Joyce Sidley, said the inspiration came from one of Megan's friends, who is also involved in the fundraiser, because she previously sold homemade bracelets at a craft show. Their other friend, Lyla Wills, 13, and her mom also help make bracelets. Since the initiative started in December, $1,600 to $1,700 has been raised for Paws and Claws from the bracelets alone. Joyce Sidley said the girls sold bracelets door to door and through Facebook. Their bracelets can also be found at Kelly's Café in Brunswick and Miss Molly's Tea Room in Medina. Liberatore said she did not expect the fundraiser to take off the way it did, and the funds have made a huge impact on the organization. "We just took, I think it was seven cats to be fixed, and you can imagine with seven cats and all the vaccinations, it adds up so quickly," she said. "I am holding some of the funds to the side as well. We may be building a catio, so they have more space to run and play, so it goes a long way." The group will be selling Valentine's Day themed bracelets in-person at the Drug Mart in Brunswick Hills at 5270 Center Road on Saturday and Sunday. Bracelets are $5 each and come in a variety of sizes. To learn more about Paws and Claws, visit the organization's Facebook page. "There are a lot of times when we get down to our last, I don't know, $50 in the bank, and we're like, oh gosh, what are we going to do?" Liberatore said. "What if this cat gets sick, or what if this happens? To have that money there for peace of mind and to know we're going to be okay is huge." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.