I
t began, innocently enough, with a simple inquiry to a known philanthropic animal lover, Lisa DeBartolo, CEO of the DeBartolo Family Foundation. Would she consider hosting a small gathering of
family and friends at her home to hear a little about the Humane Society of Tampa Bay? Of course, she said yes. During the memorable evening’s event, as
like-minded animal lovers enjoyed meeting each other, some for the first time, the shelter’s CEO, Sherry Silk, gave a brief presentation on the shelter's history. She talked about the out- dated condition of the shelter and the need for a new building in order to remain a viable entity in the community. An invitation to tour the shelter was extended to the guests, many of whom had never been there. “We have done an incredible job of keep-
ing our animals comfortable and safe in a building that is half a century old,” Sherry told Lisa DeBartolo’s guests. “But, it’s time to do better. Tampa Bay's homeless animals deserve so much more and, with the help of our com- munity, we intend to give it to them.” Lisa was one of those who had never been
to the Humane Society of Tampa (HSTB). “In fact, I had never set foot inside any animal shelter before visiting Humane Society of Tampa Bay,” she told us during a recent con- versation.”A lot of our guests, that evening, started to donate to the shelter right then and there.”
The evening’s event also had a profound
effect on Candy and Eddie DeBartolo Jr., Lisa’s parents. With the family gathered around, Eddie told them, “We need to do something to help the shelter.” It was the perfect storm for the family and the shelter. “We don’t make donations of such epic
proportions very often,” Lisa said. “My dad said to us that evening, if not us then who and if not now, then when?” The DeBartolo family has a soft spot for
animals, dogs in particular. “My parents have five dogs,” said Lisa. “I actually think my dad loves his dogs more than his children,” she added laughing. “When I die, I want to come
back as one of my dad’s dogs.” The thought of putting the family’s name
on the shelter was not something Eddie was initially comfortable with. “This was going to be far too important a
gift to not have our names on it,” said Lisa. “The facility was going to be first class. My sister, Nikki, and I talked to our parents to convince them the family’s name should be on the shelter. We told them it would help make others spring into action to help the shelter as well.” Everything began moving pretty quickly,
after that, and especially after Lisa and Nikki made their first visit to the old shelter. “The thing that struck me the most was to
see the animals housed in kennels outdoors, said Lisa. “It surprised me because we live in Florida, and these animals, the shelter staff and volunteers, were out in the elements; the heat, the sun, rain, the storms. All of it.” Something else really stood out for Lisa
from that initial visit. “Even in that condition, under which they had so little to work with, we could see how beautifully the shelter animals were being taken care of,” she said. “To see that, and then realize that our donation would make a difference and have a lasting impact on the community was eye-opening for each of us.” The projected cost of building the new
shelter was $11 million. HSTB had already raised $8.7 million towards the goal. Receiving a $3 million donation from the DeBartolo Foundation would mean they could finally break ground on the much-needed shelter. As expected with a donation this large,
there was plenty of due diligence between the DeBartolo Family Foundation and the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. “The whole process seemed to go on for
several months,” Sherry recalls. “Phone calls, emails, paperwork back and forth.” Then one day, it seemed out of the blue,
Sherry received a message from David Mallitz, Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer at DeBartolo Holdings, LLC. “Mr. D wants to meet with you. Just you,”
Mallitz told Sherry. Continued on the following pageg THE NEW BARKER 47
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