By Matthew Sims
Pakenham local Gabrielle Rossiter pounded the pavement in support of the furry friends of Melbourne’s homeless at the recent Run Melbourne event, raising more than $7500 for charity organisation Pets of the Homeless (POTH).
She ran the 10-kilometre course among thousands of other runners throughout the Melbourne CBD on Sunday 21 July, raising $7536 at the time of publication, the eighth highest individual fundraiser and the top fundraiser for POTH.
This year was the first year Ms Rossiter decided to run in support of POTH, after supporting their ‘bad pet portraits’ fundraising events since 2020.
“I’ve been an animal lover my whole life,” she said.
“I wanted to raise as much as I could to help keep pet owners and their companion animals together so to support my fundraising efforts I offered ‘bad pet portraits’ to everyone who donated to my campaign.
“This was inspired by PoTH’s own ‘bad pet portrait’ fundraisers in which volunteer artists draw portraits for those who donate during the event window.”
Ms Rossiter said she was grateful for the support she had received from the Pakenham and broader POTH communities.
“There was so much support for this fundraising campaign in local notice boards and community groups,” she said.
Ms Rossiter said the event itself had an “amazing” atmosphere.
“Honestly, I didn’t spent much time training since I was so busy drawing so I was expected to suffer the whole run, but it actually wasn’t too bad,” she said.
“The energy of all the supporters and the other participants really helps keep you going on the day.
“Definitely keen to do it all again next year, but with more training next time.”
To see all of Ms Rossiter’s ‘bad pet portraits’, visit her Instagram @apricotbanana
To donate to her fundraiser, visit runmelbourne24.grassrootz.com/pets-of-the-homeless/gabrielle-rossiter
