By Clark Judge
(October 24, 2024) — Three years ago, third-grader Maeve Browne became something of a local celebrity when she led a fundraising drive at the Killingworth Elementary School to save Deer Lake … and wound up collecting nearly $2,700 in donations. Her effort not only made her the focus of print and broadcast news; it made her the poster child for an ambitious grassroots campaign that culminated in the purchase of the 253-acre property.
Since then, however, we haven’t heard from Maeve. That is, until now.
If you were at the Killingworth Waste Transfer Station on October 19, 2024, you saw the 4-foot-6-inch Maeve, sister Isla, mother Katie and ten or eleven family friends selling lemonade and coffee by Route 81. Okay, so lemonade stands run by kids are nothing new. But this one was. Because this one sought donations for Maeve’s latest cause.
Just one problem: No one was quite certain what that was.
Initially, it was to save the Valley Shore Animal Welfare League (VSAWL) in Westbrook from dissolving. Maeve, now 11, and sister Isla, 8, volunteered at the animal shelter the past two years, and rumors of its shuttering provoked them to do … well, something. So the two decided to set up a lemonade stand to collect donations for the shelter.
But then a VSAWL social media post tried to clarify the situation, saying that reports and rumors were “NOT CORRECT,” warning readers “to be careful what you believe and spread on line.” Unsure what to do, the Brownes made a decision. The show must go on.
So it did.
At 9:30 on that Saturday morning, Maeve, Isla and friends showed up at the Transfer Station with hot coffee, cold lemonade and hand-written signs that read “Coffee for Dogs and Cats,” “Save the Cats and Dogs,” “Valley Shore Animal Welfare League” and “Support Animals; Buy Lemonade or Coffee.” As they held them up to passerby, drivers honked horns, waved and sometimes shouted words of encouragement.
“This brings me so much joy,” Maeve said.
There was more when she and her family closed the stand three hours later. They’d collected $455, a sum later matched by the North Branford Fraternal Order of Police (where Maeve’s father works) and supplemented by subsequent donations.
In the end, Maeve’s Brigade raised nearly $1,000.
“We really were here just to try to raise awareness,” said Katie Browne, Maeve’s mother.
But awareness of … what? Ah, that’s where the plot thickens.
You see, it seems there’s something curious going on at VSAWL, a non-profit founded in 1972 that runs a no-kill shelter that serves as an adoption facility for dogs and cats. It’s operated by a board of directors, staffed by a cadre of volunteers and the subject of recent rumors and reports that have some people nervous that its future … at least as we know it today … is in jeopardy.
That’s understandable. The VSAWL’s Board of Directors recently shrank from twelve to five members and has a new president. The shelter is in need of an upgrade and no longer accepts animals for adoption. In fact, according to shelter manager Delilah Lord, it has had to turn away twelve cats and dogs this month. Adoption fees were waived. Volunteers have quit. Rumors of interest in the Connecticut Humane Society surfaced, with a meeting earlier this month confirmed. And an adoption event with Homeward Bound last weekend in Chester was canceled. So were events at Killingworth’s Lavender Pond Farm and a local car dealership.
Furthermore, in its Facebook post last week, the VSAWL did nothing to allay concerns when it mentioned it was “going through a transition” … tackling “the issues before us “… and implementing “the necessary steps to do what’s best for our animals and for the organization.” Uncertain what all that meant, I addressed a series of questions to the VSAWL’s interim president, Dottie Wells, and received the following e-mail from the Board on Wednesday:
“The transition mentioned in the statement refers to the changing over of Board members, as well as the implementation of much needed structural changes to better serve and support the animals in our care and the staff. Because of this transition, we have cancelled a few recent local events and have temporarily paused the intake of new animals so that we can focus on providing for the animals currently in our care and on making decisions about how to best move the shelter forward. As we work toward improving the shelter, we are considering all options with regard to partnerships, alliances and supporters; though, to be clear, we have not and would never consider working with a high kill shelter.”
So where does that leave Maeve and Isla Browne? Somewhere in between. They have $1,000 waiting to be donated to the VSAWL. But that won’t happen until or unless they’re certain of what’s next, and stay tuned. According to Lord, a rally to keep the shelter local and renew adoptions is scheduled for Monday, October 28, 2024, at the VSAWL at 6:00 p.m. … the same time as the next scheduled board meeting.
“I told Maeve to hold on to her money because we don’t know what’s going on,” said Lord. “What she’s done is so touching. You have conflicting things being said, yet the strength and support of the community has been unreal. For Maeve to do this, it’s so moving.”
It’s also so typical. Her involvement in the Save Deer Lake campaign drew so much attention that Pathfinders, Inc., the non-profit that bought the property from the Boy Scouts, named an annual award after her. Appropriately, it’s given to the most active and invaluable volunteers.
“The Deer Lake experience definitely encouraged me,” she said. “In the beginning, it was hard because people didn’t know what it was. But once it reached a climax and was sold, it was inspiring. A lot of people cared, and it made me happy to know I made a difference.”
Now she’s back at it again, hoping to assist another non-profit. And maybe she does. Maeve, Isla and their peers already raised a lot of money, but they accomplished something much more last weekend. They brought awareness to a complicated story that needs to be told.
“That’s Maeve,” said her mother, Katie (photo above, left, with Isla, center, and Maeve, right). “She’s small but mighty.”
Photos by Clark Judge
