Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter

Who we are

The Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter (FFCAS) is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) organization located in Fairfax County, Virginia. Since 2006, the FFCAS has been aiding the Fairfax County Animal Shelter in its efforts to help lost and abandoned animals in our community.

We're making a real difference in the lives of shelter animals. In 2009, the FFCAS collected more than $24,900 in donations. With your support and contributions, we were able to assist the Fairfax County Animal Shelter with:

25+ medical procedures
Over $4000 dollars used to support shelter initiatives
Funding for AHA trainings and neo-natal kitten fostering
Launching rabbit spay and neuter voucher program

These services and items helped dozens of dogs, cats and small animals who faced an uncertain future.

How we help

Each year, more than 5,000 domestic animals make their way to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. Some are strays. And, others are pets surrendered by their owners or confiscated by the county due to neglect or mistreatment.

With so many animals coming through its doors, the shelter has to make tough decisions about how it can provide for each animal. In some cases, this means that otherwise adoptable animals might not have a second chance if expensive medical treatments or special needs' costs exceed what the shelter can afford.

This is where the FFCAS steps in. We raise awareness — and money — to help improve the quality of life for hundreds of loving local shelter animals.

Through the generosity of our donors, we've been able to:

Provide emergency medical treatment to shelter animals
Purchase much needed equipment and supplies for the shelter
Support the foster program by providing food, specialty supplies and other items to help loving families temporarily care for animals in their homes
Fund additional training for shelter staff
Assist with efforts to spay and neuter animals in our community
Support special adoption events at the shelter
Promote and support humane trap–neuter–return (TNR) efforts to manage feral cat populations
Support pet victims in domestic abuse situations by funding care for them when they can't be housed at the shelter as part of the Safe Haven Program
Provide grooming and medical care to increase the adoptability of special needs shelter animals

With your help, we can continue to do wonderful things for these loving animals.

Our volunteers

Each year, caring individuals from our community volunteer hundreds of hours to the FFCAS. They're an invaluable part of our organization and help in many ways including assisting with special events, serving on committees, soliciting donations and performing administrative tasks. Their dedication, support and tireless work enable us to care for so many loving animals.

Our board

Evelyn Grieve, President
Evelyn is one of the founding members of the FFCAS. She was approached by her longtime friend Karen Diviney to be a part of this important cause. Evelyn has a tremendous love and respect for animals and has adopted several special needs Airedale terriers. She and her husband Bill recently adopted Eddie, a Cairn terrier mix who came to the shelter in need of emergency surgery. He's fully recovered and has become a great addition to their family. Evelyn and Bill have always cared for cats, dogs, ducks, hamsters, parrots, rabbits, turtles and frogs. Evelyn has a degree in information technology and works in the department of human resources for Fairfax County.

Mary O'Malley, Vice President
Mary O'Malley started volunteering at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter after retiring from a career in information technology management in 2001. She works with all kinds of animals at the shelter, but she has a particular interest in the rabbits at the shelter and is often found cuddling one, or trimming his/her nails. Mary has also served on the boards of several other animal–related clubs and charities, and is currently also serving as the Secretary of the Irish Wolfhound Foundation. In her professional life, she's a photographer, specializing in pets. Mary also functions as the shelter's in–house photographer. She's married to John, and they share their home with two Irish Wolfhounds, one cat, several houserabbits and an African Grey parrot.

Cynthia Kochendarfer, Treasurer
Cynthia has volunteered with the Fairfax County Animal Shelter since 2006 and has provided foster care and shelter for over 100 cats and kittens through shelter's foster program. She earned a Bachelor's and Master's in Accounting from George Mason University and became a CPA in 1992. Cynthia is now retired from from over 30 years in banking and finance. She and her husband share their home with four feline companions — one adopted from the Fairfax County Animal Shelter and three adopted from local rescue groups.

Audra Meckstroth, Secretary
Audra was a resident of Fairfax County for more than 15 years and has been a volunteer at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter since 2007. Recently, she received a certificate of recognition from the Washington Metro Council of Governments for her contributions to shelter adoption events. Audra graduated from the Corcoran College of Art and Design and works as an associate creative director for an internal marketing department of a large corporation. She uses her design talents to create marketing materials to promote special events at the shelter. In addition to sharing her home with her four turtles, she's known to dote on her 15-year-old cocker spaniel.

Karen Diviney, Member
Karen Diviney is an original founding member of the FFCAS. She has worked in human resources for Fairfax County for almost 25 years. And, she has been the director of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter since December 2004. Karen serves as the shelter liaison to the FFCAS Board and she's primarily responsible for alerting the board about animals with special needs. Karen and her husband Wayne currently share their home with animals she's rescued over the years including two 15-year-old cats, a 14-year-old lab/shepherd mix, a 20-pound cat named Lucifer and an African grey parrot. Karen is committed to helping the shelter become a model in northern Virginia.

Rita Altman, Member
Rita is a longtime shelter volunteer and helped with several FFCAS fundraising events even before joining the Board in 2011. Rita is a retired schoolteacher who lives and worked in Fairfax County.

Jami Ojala, Member
Jami joined the board in August 2011, and has been a volunteer at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter since 2002. Jami interacts with all kinds of animals at the shelter, but devotes most of her time to the dogs and cats. In her work life, she is a financial professional for a venture capital firm. Rick Ojala is Jami's better half, and their lives are brightened by two kitties adopted from the shelter over the years.

Bobbie Cippel, Member
Bobbie is another longtime shelter volunteer who joined the FFCAS Board in March of 2012. She has a long history of volunteer work, from nursing home visits with her dog, Tucker, for the Fairfax Pets on Wheels organization, to doing household chores for a disabled citizen for Fairfax Volunteer Solutions. In addition to walking dogs and helping the caretakers at the shelter, Bobbie also fosters cats and dogs in need of some TLC before they go to their forever homes. She is also a creative and talented seamstress, and made and donated several gorgeous quilts for FFCAS fundraisers, as well as making "Adopt Me" vests for shelter dogs to wear when out in the community.

DONATE | CONTACT US | SHOP!