By Kathy Chaffin
kchaffin@salisburypost.com
Faithful Friends will hold a “Coffee, Cookies and Cuttings” fundraiser from 8 a.m. until noon Saturday in the private gardens of Jean and Rick McCoy of 505 Steeplechase Trail Road.
“Bring your bucket and a pair of scissors and fill it with flowers,” said Faithful Friends President Anne Ingram. “And bring a camera. It’s one of the most beautiful gardens that you’ll ever see.”
Coffee and cookies will be served.
There is a $10 minimum donation for a one-gallon bucket of cuttings and $25 for a five-gallon bucket. All proceeds will go toward the Faithful Friends Animal Sanctuary planned for Grace Church Road.
Pet food donations and aluminum cans will be accepted at this event.
The nonprofit group has raised $358,000 so far for the 5,400-square-foot no-kill animal sanctuary, which is estimated to cost between $400,000 and $500,000.
Plans call for the sanctuary ó which will house up to 50 cats and 34 to 50 dogs depending on their size ó to be environmentally friendly. Jon Palmer is the architect for the project, and Mike and Fred Bowers and Randy Sturgill are engineers.
Directions to the McCoys’ gardens are as follows:
– From Salisbury: Head north past the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer. Continue past Bojangle’s on North Salisbury Avenue .9 mile. Turn left onto Sowers Ferry Road between Raper’s and Used Furniture Emporium. Turn right onto Sowers Road. Go 150 yards and turn left onto Steeplechase. Follow road until you get to 505.
– From I-85 South: Exit left to Spencer on Exit 82. Go approximately 2 miles and turn right at Used Furniture Emporium onto Sowers Ferry Road. Turn right onto Sowers Road. Go 150 yards and turn left onto Steeplechase Trail. Follow road until you get to 505.
– From I-85 North: Take Exit 79 at Spencer/East Spencer. Turn left at stop sign. At second stop light (Bojangle’s on the corner), turn right. Go .9 mile and turn left onto Sowers Ferry Road between Raper’s of Spencer and Used Furniture Emporium. Turn right onto Sowers Road. Go 150 yards and turn left onto Steeplechase. Follow road until you get to 505.
– From I-40: Exit on Iń77 South. Take Exit 49A in Statesville (G. Bagnel Boulevard Exit). This is Highway 70. Stay on road. When you get to Salisbury, it becomes Statesville Boulevard. Continue on as it changes to Mahaley. Pass Rowan Regional Medical Center. Mahaley becomes Confederate at this point. Turn right onto Club House Road. Turn left at stop light onto North Main Street. Go through Spencer. Go .9 mile past Bojangle’s, and turn left onto Sowers Ferry Road at Used Furniture Emporium. Turn right onto Sowers Road. Go 150 yards and turn left onto Steeplechase. Follow road until you get to 505.
“We’ re still getting a lot of donations coming in and a lot of people offering to help as volunteers,” said Ingram.
For more information on Faithful Friends, call 704-633-1722 or log onto its Web site at www.faithfulfriendsnc.org. Anyone interested in making a contribution toward the animal sanctuary, donating building supplies or helping with the construction can contact Mary Ann Pool, who chairs the Building Committee, at clar451@live.com or President Anne Ingram at 704-433-8169.