Haven House has 31 beds available for adults and children who are seeking shelter or forced from their homes due to violence. While in the shelter, adult survivors have the opportunity to safety plan and set goals for their families. They may join a peer support group or participate in individual counseling. Advocates will be available to help with community referrals. Shelter, meals and hygiene items are provided to all residents at no cost. Shelter beds are available on a first come-first served basis, but you must call ahead to be accepted into the shelter.

Operation Foster, a service of PACT, provides peace of mind to military personnel facing deployment and pet owners undergoing medical treatment by placing their pets into safe, loving foster homes until they can be reunited. Since our founding over 11 years ago, we’ve helped more than 3,000 pets in all 50 states. When a Marine staff sergeant was suddenly deployed overseas, he had days to find care for his 2-year-old Maltese, Coco. Operation Foster quickly matched Coco with a foster family in Arizona. For 17 months, they sent regular updates and video chats so her owner could see Coco’s adventures. When he returned home, Coco sprinted into his arms. They still stay in touch with her foster family today.

Since 2016, ImPossible has been dedicated to providing mentorship and sports programs to the youth of Central Texas and the largest U.S. military base. Many of our teenagers face unique challenges, experiencing inconsistency during crucial growth phases due to parents departing for war, deployment, and the field, leading to continuously shifting circumstances. ImPossible Teen Campus aims to address this by offering a nurturing environment that fosters development and provides much-needed continuity. Our core pillars – education, entrepreneurship, and sports – form the foundation of our program. Teens participate in training sessions covering 21st-century skills such as coding, e-commerce, website development, S.T.E.M., and more, empowering them with practical life skills.

Their Tangible Need: While the leaders and mentors at ImPossible are busy building up the future leaders of tomorrow, their physical facility is facing an urgent challenge. The building currently has a severe leak in the roof. To keep providing a safe, dry, and secure environment for these teens to learn coding and build businesses, they need our help to get it fixed.

If ImPossible Teen Club wins this month’s collective grant, the PiFster community funds will go directly toward repairing their facility's roof, ensuring their doors can stay wide open and their tech equipment stays safe and dry!

AnimalCity is a nonprofit dedicated to helping pets whose people have passed away, become incapacitated, or can no longer care for them. Through proactive Forever Care Planning, we work with pet parents to ensure their beloved pets have a safe and loving future when life takes an unexpected turn. One specific, tangible need a cash grant would help us fulfill right now is the ongoing care of Tipsy, a senior cat in our rescue program. Tipsy came into our care in January 2025 after her person passed away and no family members were able to take her in. Now over 12 years old, Tipsy requires regular veterinary care, prescription medications, and ongoing monitoring to maintain her health and quality of life. Over the past 18 months, AnimalCity has spent nearly $2,000 on her medical and daily care. A grant of $350 would cover approximately three months of Tipsy's ongoing needs, including medications, veterinary visits, and other age-related care. This support would help ensure that Tipsy continues to receive the comfort and specialized attention she deserves while allowing us to preserve resources for other pets who have lost their people.

Hazel's House Animal Rescue takes in cats, dogs and small animals from all over Oregon. We also have a Community Outreach Program that helps with no cost spay/neuters, pet food assistance, emergency veterinary bills and other resources to help keep pets in their loving homes!  

Hazel’s House Rescue: The "One More" Mission

The Story: Hazel’s House began in a barn with a single litter of kittens. Now, they’ve saved over 2,000 animals. They specialize in the "underdogs"—like Nina, a sweet black Staffy who spent two years in a shelter because of 'black dog syndrome' before Hazel's House stepped in to find her a forever couch.

The PIFster Perspective: "Hazel’s House lives by the motto #Whatsonemore. They see the beauty in the animals others overlook. Every $1 vote helps provide the medical care and foster homes these 'forgotten' pets need to become someone's best friend.

In 2011, after an EF5 tornado devastated Joplin, Missouri, a group of competitive pitmasters from eight states answered the call the only way they knew how—by firing up their smokers. For 13 straight days, they fed their pits, slept in their trucks, and served 120,000 hot meals to families and first responders. It wasn’t just about BBQ. It was about bringing comfort, dignity, and hope when everything else was lost. That spirit of service and compassion lives on in every meal we serve today. When disaster strikes, we show up fast – with smokers blazing and hearts wide open. Within 24-48 hours, we’re on the ground providing hot meals that bring comfort, hope, and a sense of normalcy to families and first responders.  

The Story: In 2011, when an EF5 tornado leveled Joplin, MO, pitmasters didn't just send thoughts—they sent smoke. They cooked 120,000 meals in 13 days. Today, they deploy within 24 hours of a disaster to feed victims and first responders.

The PIFster Perspective: "When a veteran or a disaster survivor holds a warm plate of BBQ, they aren't just getting calories; they’re getting a reminder that they aren't forgotten. Your $1 keeps the smokers fired up for the next time the 'heavy lifting' gets too hard to bear alone

Helping the helpless cats and dogs find loving furever homes. The money, if we were to win, will go towards medical expenses for the animals.