Give Our Strays A Chance (GOSAC) is an organisation founded in 2013 by a Western Australian 10-year-old boy Dean Morris,[1] for the purpose of raising awareness of animal rescue and raising donations for animal shelters and pounds.[2]
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| Abbreviation | GOSAC |
|---|---|
| Established | 2013 |
| Founder | Dean Morris |
| Founded at | Western Australia |
| Legal status | Registered charity |
| Purpose | Raising awareness and donations for animal shelters and animal rescue groups |
| Location |
|
Region | Australia |
Director, CEO | Dean Morris |
| Website | www |
Getting Australian and international businesses on board together with local communities and the media, GOSAC has saved many stray animals and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations.[3][4]
Over holiday seasons, GOSAC assists the homeless feed and care for their pets[5]
During bush fire seasons, including the 2021 Wooroloo Bushfire in Western Australia, GOSAC collected and delivered surgical and medical supplies to wildlife animal rescues. GOSAC also provided over 2 tonnes of wildlife food for the animals returning to the fire grounds.[6]
Through COVID-19, GOSAC has partnered with ARC (Animal Rescue Cooperative) and Petbarn Foundation to work on the Act Of Kindness project, helping struggling Australian families feed their pets. As local borders closed within Western Australia, GOSAC delivered donations to remote animal rescues who were stranded without supplies.[7] It was named "Operation Narrogin".
Founding edit
In 2013 Dean Morris rescued his dog "Hooch" from a country pound. Wanting to donate all his savings, Dean made his way to the pound where he encountered the confronting reality of stray animals.[8] Every year over 250,000 cats and dogs are euthanised in Australia,[9] Dean was determined to do something about it. As part of his school project at the Gifted and Talented program, Dean created GOSAC - Give Our Strays A Chance.
Events edit
GOSAC Day edit
A regular GOSAC fundraising event at shopping centres such as Forest Lakes Shopping Centre and Halls Head Central[10] in Western Australia, where the community comes together to raise awareness and donations for the strays.,[11][12]
Kelmscott Show and De Stress Day edit
GOSAC has been participating in the University of Western Australia's bi-annual De Stress day, where university students have the chance to adopt the strays, donate or volunteer to foster cats and dogs.
The West Australian Kelmscott Show invited GOSAC to take part in their 2017 and 2018 events. All strays were adopted and hundreds of dollars were donated on the day.[13]
Saving The World edit
In 2021 Morris published a non-fiction book about his experiences and the importance of animal rescue efforts, titled Saving The World - One Stray At A Time.[14]
Success edit
What started as a school project quickly snowballed into an award-winning,[15] statewide success story.[16] The community's support grew and with it Dean's ability to save more animals from euthanasia and drastically improve the conditions stray animals were kept at the animal shelters.[17] Within 7 years GOSAC raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and item donations while saving many stray animals' lives.[18][4]
Following the success of GOSAC, schools around the world are drawing inspiration from the young boy's success, teaching students that even kids can make a difference.[19][20] In recognition of Dean's GOSAC work and his substantial contribution to animal welfare in Western Australia, he was appointed as an RSPCA WA Youth Ambassador.[21] Subsequently, Dean has also won the first RSPCA WA Youth State Award for 2018,.[22][15] Dean was a finalist for Channel 7 Young Achiever Award for Community Service and Volunteering as well as Leadership.[23] He was also named a finalist for WA Youth Award.[24] In September 2020, Dean won Matt Keogh's Burt Award for his contribution to Animal Welfare as well as his work in the local and wider community[5] Dean received the Australia Day Young Citizen of the Year Award for 2021[25] and became an Australia Day ambassador,[26] encouraging communities to come together to "Reflect, Respect and Celebrate" the Australian spirit and diversity.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Amanda Lewis, "Teen Races To stars", The West Australian, June 28, 2016
- ^ Mark Gibson, "Today Tonight", Channel 7, August 4, 2016
- ^ Toby Hussey, "The Dean of hearts", The Examiner, August 31, 2017
- ^ a b Geraldine Alphonse, "Dean is giving strays a chance", Gosnells Examiner, November 7, 2019
- ^ a b Geraldine Alphonse, "A True Animal Hero", The Examiner, September 24th, 2020
- ^ Hunt, Annalise (2021-02-11). "Dean's medical mission". Your Local Examiner. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ^ Kelly Balaam, "Crisis prompts mission for stray cats", Narrogin Observer, April 30, 2020
- ^ Natalie Nazzari, "Give Our Strays A Chance (GOSAC)", Community News, April 27, 2014
- ^ Rachel Browne, "Truth about cats and dogs: 250,000 killed every year", The Sydney Morning Herald, June 6, 2010
- ^ Carla Hildebrandt, "Halls Head community meets animals seeking a home", Mandurah Mail, January 5, 2019
- ^ Ben Smith, "Thornlie teen hosting Give Our Strays a Chance fundraiser", The Comment News, May 2, 2017
- ^ Kaylee Meerton, "Impressive teenager hosts stray animal awareness event in Mandurah", Mandurah Mail, November 26, 2018
- ^ Toby Hussey, "Strays get a second chance thanks to teen", Examiner Newspapers, October 26, 2017
- ^ Melville, Brianna (2021-08-26). "Animal hero pens first book". Your Local Examiner. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
- ^ a b James Liveris, "Thornlie: Teen’s animal charity gives strays an award winning chance", Comment News, October 5, 2018
- ^ Amy Blom, "From saving strays to a space camp", Examiner News Paper, March 31, 2016
- ^ Cam Findlay, "Young animal saviour once again on a mission", Examiner Newspapers, May 3, 2018
- ^ Toby Hussey, ["The Dean of hearts"], The Examiner, August 31, 2017
- ^ Sarah Waters, "Save-a-stray campaign goes global", The Comment News, 29 April 2014, p. 1&3
- ^ Dean Morris, "GOSAC - schools", GOSAC Website, January 2018
- ^ "Meet Junior Ambassador Dean Morris. ", RSPCA WA, 2018
- ^ "LOCAL ANIMAL WELFARE HEROES RECOGNISED BY RSPCA WA", RSPCA WA, October 2018
- ^ Cam Findlay, "Animal hero up to two awards", The Examiner, March 14, 2019
- ^ The Youth Affairs Council of Western Australia, "Dean Morris Finalist - WA Youth Awards"
- ^ "Examiner Newspapers - Gosnells Examiner Newspapers 28th January 2021 - Page 1". view.publitas.com. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
- ^ "Inspiring Australians' Network". Auspire - Australia Day Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
