Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
The late Betty White was a tireless lifetime advocate for animals, from caring for those without homes to launching her own weekly TV show, "The Pet Set," dedicated to her celebrity friends and their pets.
Her most far-reaching contribution, though, may be yet to come: On Monday, fans of White will be poised to donate to animal welfare charities and shelters as part of what's been dubbed the BettyWhiteChallenge. And animal welfare nonprofits are gearing up to capitalize on the viral tribute to the star of "The Golden Girls" and "Hot in Cleveland" on what would have been her 100th birthday.
"I've had many conversations with Betty about animal welfare, and I know she's looking down from heaven and really smiling," said Robin Ganzert, who leads American Humane, an animal welfare organization that White was involved with for more than 60 years.
"She'll be smiling on her birthday," she said. "And she'll be smiling about the lives she's changed."
It isn't exactly clear who started the BettyWhiteChallenge on social media shortly after White's death on Dec. 31. However it began, the idea -- to donate $5 to a local animal rescue organization in White's name on her birthday -- quickly took off and drew support from celebrities like actors Mark Hamill and George Takei on Twitter.
Traffic to American Humane's website spiked after White's passing. Ganzert said donations, too, have increased. The nonprofit is waiting to reveal by how much until more gifts flood in, including sizable donations it's expecting from some donors.
During the decades in which White was involved with the organization, she made fundraising appeals and served on its board and as a presenter and judge on its televised show featuring "hero" dogs. During tapings of "The Pet Set" in the early 1970s, Ganzert said, White would have American Humane representatives on set to ensure that animals were safe. In 2012, the nonprofit honoured her with its highest award, the National Humanitarian Medal.
Ganzert would also give White a photo book each year of the animals the organization helped.
"She kept those out on her coffee table," Ganzert said. "And (it) always touched me whenever we would visit."
Best Friends Animal Society, a Utah-based animal welfare organization, has raised $25,000 in donations made in White's name, according to the group's chief mission officer Holly Sizemore. The group has promoted the.BettyWhiteChallenge broadly across its social media channels to drum up support both for its work and other organizations.
"That's the beauty of animal welfare," Sizemore said. "There's something for everyone to support. There's so much good work happening and so much opportunity, particularly right now, to make the world a better place for people and animals."
Sizemore hopes that Monday will bring plenty of donations and attention for animal welfare.
"What an incredible opportunity to honour Betty White's legacy -- to come together as a nation and celebrate something that she was so passionate about, her love for animals," she said.
Maintaining that connection with.BettyWhiteChallenge donors is the main test for animal welfare nonprofits after Monday. Viral fundraising efforts can bring in a stream of money, but experts say donations tend to drop off quickly.
Sarah Newhall, the chief strategy officer of the fundraising firm MissionWired, says charities can best capitalize on these moments if they already have a strong foundation in place to engage new donors -- whether through emails, a website, social media or other methods.
"What it allows them to do is really use that tent-pole moment to get in front of an audience they might not otherwise have gotten," Newhall said. But, she added, retaining these donors can be an uphill battle because the push to give is tied to one day, and the motivation to one person. Animal groups might also become overshadowed by other organizations soliciting donations during Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which also falls on Monday.
North Shore Animal League America, a no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization, plans to engage new.BettyWhiteChallenge donors through a mix of social media appeals and invitations to visit its adoption center in Port Washington, New York, said Joanne Yohannan, the organization's senior vice president of operations. It is also dedicating its next 100 animal rescues to White in honour of her 100th birthday.
The organization has received a donation from the Hallmark Channel in honour of White, part of a tribute that also includes a "Golden Girls" marathon and her Hallmark movie "The Lost Valentine" on Jan. 17.
"It's about raising awareness for the plight of homeless animals and what can be done to help them, including volunteering and adopting," Yohannan said.
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.
The wildfire that sparked Friday and caused evacuation orders for more than 3,000 people in Fort Nelson, B.C., and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has grown to nearly 1,700 hectares in size, according to a Saturday morning update from the BC Wildfire Service.
Hours before the final, Dutch contestant Joost Klein was dramatically booted out by organizers over a backstage incident. He had failed to perform at two dress rehearsals on Friday, and contest organizer the European Broadcasting Union said it was investigating an "incident."
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
A growing number of civilians and police officers are demanding the dismissal and arrest of Haiti's police chief as heavily armed gangs launched a new attack in the capital of Port-au-Prince, seizing control of yet another police station early Saturday.
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
A man who was accused of sexually and physically assaulting a woman had his charges dropped in April, just weeks before he was set to stand trial in Toronto, due to a lack of judges in the region.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.