Keep up with our podcast VIE Speaks: Conversations with Heart & Soul to hear stories come to life in coffee-casual dialogue. From war heroes to 30A community influencers to travel videographers, VIE Speaks interviewees share a wide range of expertise, and the intimate nature of the podcast gives an ear to the behind-the-scenes details of their personal journeys.

Alaqua Animal Refuge announced today that it will host its new virtual fund-raising event, Rescue Me, on Saturday, May 16 at 5:00 p.m. (CST) with special celebrity guest appearances and video surprises. 

This past October, Alaqua Animal Refuge Founder Laurie Hood traveled to Grand Bahama Island on a mission with Animal Wellness Action (AWA) to assess three farms and their surviving animals that were almost completely demolished by Hurricane Dorian back in August of this year.

Alaqua Animal Refuge’s inaugural Animoré weekend was truly a festival to celebrate the love of animals. The 6th Annual 100 Point and Cult Wine Dinner and the first-ever Barn Jam took place October 18 and 19 in Freeport, Florida, and raised over $1,100,000 to support Alaqua’s Capital Campaign, “Second Chances Start Here."

With our recent Animal Issue featuring the great work of Laurie Hood and Alaqua Animal Refuge, we thought it was the perfect chance to highlight some more organizations doing wonders for Northwest Florida animal welfare throughout the COLA 2 COLA region.

The weather is heating up and our hearts are warmed after the Spring Soirée at J.McLaughlin in Grand Boulevard Town Center, co-hosted by VIE with 15 percent of proceeds from the sip-and-shop style event benefiting Alaqua Animal Refuge. Thank you to everyone who came out and helped make this an impressive event!