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which, as Mahoney says, wastes valuable time. In addition to their own work, Cancer Revengers, which is not a nonprofit, partners with the nonprofit Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium (PNOC) Foundation, which works to provide access to treatment strategies for kids with brain tumors. Mahoney knows that some donors are more comfortable making contributions to a nonprofit charitable organization, but he adds that as a non-nonprofit, Mahoney has flexibility to sidestep bureaucratic barriers and allocate donations directly where they can be most impactful, whether it's funding a research assistant for a study or subsidizing travel costs for a family whose child needs life-saving treatment. "At the end of the day, I want the world to know that the kids are the soldiers left behind," says Mahoney. "But, with the right financial support, we can fix that, and in short order. So, I am on a mission to find the right people who can fund what is needed." While he says that he's learned that with donations to most other organizations, money is not going where the donor thinks it is, with Cancer Revengers, he says, "We are the fix, the future, and we put it directly where it needs to be, and with crystal clarity and transparency." cancerrevengers.com, pnocfoundation.org A Gift of Healthy Companionship e mission of Rancho Santa Fe's Helen Woodward Animal Center to help both animals and people is activated through a multitude of meaningful programs, but none may so perfectly fit that goal as one of its newer initiatives, Pets Without Walls. For the past six years, this program has, in collaboration with Father Joe's Villages, provided free essential health care for the companion animals of San Diegans experiencing homelessness. "I think that one of the misconceptions that a lot of people have is that these people shouldn't have pets because they don't have a place to keep them," says Jessica Gercke, HWAC's public relations and communications director. However, as Gercke explains, these pets and their owners can often be even more bonded than those in traditional housed environments. While pets in homes can often be left on their own while their people are away at work or school, or even left in a yard to play, "these pets are with their people 24/7." Additionally, says Gercke, "A lot of times these pets have been with their people since before they were homeless. So, these are pets that have been through the mountains with their people, and they really are family members to these individuals." I think for a lot of these people, it's really a beautiful gift that they get to keep their animals and know that their animals are healthy and taken care of," says Jessica Gercke of Helen Woodward Animal Center's Pets Without Walls program >> @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023 53 PHOTO COURTESY OF HELEN WOODWARD ANIMAL CENTER