St. Paul's Episcopal Church to Host "Pet-Centered Festival" Fundraiser
Dawgs 4 Paws promises plenty of fun for pets and their owners, all for a good cause.
ALTON - Community members can support the Episcopal Parish of Alton’s pet food pantry through their Dawgs 4 Paws event.
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From 2–4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, the Episcopal Parish of Alton will host the event in their garden at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 10 East Third Street in Alton. Pets can receive vaccines and blessings while their owners enjoy a silent auction, hotdogs, live music and more fun. The event aims to raise funds and awareness for the parish’s pet food pantry, which serves over 100 animals every month.
“Our faith tells us to live our faith, to live out the mission of Christ, and to care and help people,” explained Father Garron Daniels. “There are plenty of food pantries out there and other types of pantries, but we’ve really come to realize that there are no real supports present for people who have pets.”
The Episcopal Parish started their pet food pantry in 2022. From 12:30–1:30 p.m. on the first Sunday of every month, you can come to the church and receive a month’s worth of pet food. They serve over 40 families every month, or between 100 to 200 pets.
Father Daniels noted that the pantry was “doing really good work” when he arrived at the parish, but the need was growing. He worked with a few committee members, including Mimi Almonroeder, to create the Dawgs 4 Paws event last year to raise money for the pantry.
“It’s a pet-centered festival,” Almonroeder said. “I’m an animal lover, so it means a lot to me just to know that people that even don’t have animals in their home at the time are willing to or wanting to support them for the community. They know that people love their animals, and animals come first for them. It’s just nice. It just feels good to know that people care about others and are willing to help in any way.”
The Dawgs 4 Paws event is sponsored by Madison County Animal Care & Control, Trinity’s Way, PETCO, and Great Rivers Animal Hospital, which will be providing vaccines. Father Daniels will perform pet blessings. The parish asks that your pets be leashed or in a crate.
Almonroeder shared that the community donates regularly to the pet food pantry. She also thanked PETCO for providing them with bags of food.
But the need is increasing. Almonroeder and Father Daniels agreed that the last thing they want to see is people giving up their own food or returning their animals to overcrowded shelters. They hope the pet food pantry allows people to keep their pets fed and in loving homes. The Dawgs 4 Paws event encourages community members to be a part of this work.
“The first one was such a huge success with room to grow and improve that we're doing it again this year,” Father Daniels added. “Hopefully it’ll be even bigger this time.”
You can learn more about Dawgs 4 Paws and the pet food pantry at the official Episcopal Parish of Alton Facebook page or their official website at EpiscopalAlton.org.
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