Concord Girl Swaps Birthday Party for Kitten Fundraiser

By Paige Austin

She could have asked for the moon, but instead she asked how she could help.

Kaylie Cacioppo, a sixth-grader at Foothill Elementary, has long hoped for a pair of anti-gravity moon boots, a $30 pair of mini-trampoline shoes that create the sensation of antigravity. But as her 12th birthday neared this month, Kaylie decided to ask for something even more important than moon boots. She asked how she could help save abandoned cats and kittens.

It didn’t take long for her mother, the party planner behind Down the Rabbit Hole Parties, to come up with a plan. Kaylie’s mother Heather Arrivas turned the family’s Concord yard into a full-fledged carnival complete with nine game booths and carnival food vendors.

She created flyers and invited hundreds of people to their backyard Saturday for a carnival to raise money for The Pet Rescue Fund in lieu of gifts. By the end of the day, they raised nearly $1,000 for the medical expenses of abandoned kittens.

“I am so proud of Kaylie,” said Arrivas. “She just came up with the idea one day when I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday.”

Last year the family began fostering abandoned kittens to help Marcia Fortney, an animal clinic employee who has been rescuing cats at her own expense for nearly 30 years. It’s an expensive and labor-intensive process that often involves round-the-clock bottle feedings for kittens that can’t survive on their own.

The experience has inspired the family and left them in awe of the Fortney’s work.

“She does it out of the goodness of her heart,” said Arrivas. “People just dump the litters at the clinic, and she takes care of them and pays their medical expenses.”

The Arrivas family has nursed multiple litters and found permanent homes for them with family and friends.

“It’s really fun fostering the kittens, but it’s really hard to say goodbye,” said Kaylie.

From their current litter, the family has two kittens left – Seaweed and Jetsam (Flotsam already found a home). Aware that the kittens have a second chance thanks to the Pet Rescue Fund, Kaylie knew what to wish for when she blew out her birthday cake candles.

“I always wanted a pair of moon boots, but I think this is a better option,” said Kaylie. “Hopefully, it will help save more kittens.”

To drum up support, Kaylie handed out carnival flyers at Foothill Elementary School.

“Everyone at school has been so supportive,” she said.

Saturday’s fundraiser was a family affair. Kaylie’s brother Alex, 12, and sister Emma, 8, worked the carnival booths. And her stepfather Chuck Arrivas manned the grill and food booths.  Roughly 200 guests filled their pockets with quarters to play games such as the ring toss, balloon burst, lucky ducky, the beanbag toss and the goldfish game. All the proceeds went to the Pet Rescue Fund.

“I just think it was such a wonderful, wonderful thing. They are such an amazing family,” said Fortney, The Pet Rescue Fund founder.

Fortney fell into the rescue work through her work at veterinary clinics. Formula for bottle-feeding newborn kittens can add up to hundreds of dollars, and some of the animals require surgeries that can cost thousands of dollars, she said. Fortney holds garage sales and relies on donations from friends and supporters to help her cover the expense.

“It’s a labor of love,” said Fortney.

When Arrivas asked if she could hold a carnival fundraiser to help, Fortney was floored by the gesture.

“It absolutely marvels me that they would do this,” she said. “If it wasn’t for them, a lot of these kittens wouldn’t have a second chance.”

To help foster kittens or donate money or garage sale items to the Pet Rescue Fund, call 925-685-8581.