PATRICIA “PAT” MANSER & EFFINGHAM COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER A Heart Full of
HOPE Story by Kelly Harley Photos by Tonya Perry
F
or over eight years, Effingham’s HOPE Organization (Helping Out Pe ts in Effingham) has given a tremendous amount of real hope to much of the community’s furry friends. Patricia “Pat” Manser, a New York native, has lived in the area with her husband Rudy for over 21 years; the couple has three daughters: Elaine, Marie and Lorraine. Pat has long possessed a beautiful heart for the welfare of animals, and she began helping at Effingham County Animal Shelter (ECAS) over 15 years ago. Pat saw that there were a vast amount of animal needs that were not being met due to a lack of funding, and so the euthanasia rate was unacceptably high. Pat
20 October/November 2020 | www.EFFINGHAMMAGAZINE.com
was not content with that reality; she had a fervent desire to make a positive change. In 2012, after seeing a dire need for additional services within ECAS, those not being provided by the county, Pat founded HOPE, a 501(c)(3) organization. In addition, Dena Stapleton has been the board executive for HOPE for the past few years; she has persisted to exemplify a real commitment to the cause and has consistently championed it alongside Pat. Pat created HOPE with the mission to “reduce the population of unwanted animals in the area, getting the adoptable ones out of ECAS alive and into homes or rescue organizations.”
