Latest / Crypto Altruists: Real-World Stories of Social & Environmental Impact with Web3 / Episode 254 - Memes with Meaning: How the $BONK Community Raised $600K for Animal Welfare, with Buddies for Paws

Transcript

Episode 254 - Memes with Meaning: How the $BONK Community Raised $600K for Animal Welfare, with Buddies for Paws · Crypto Altruists: Real-World Stories of Social & Environmental Impact with Web3

• 0:00
  Today you'll discover how Buddies for Paws has raised almost$600,000 for animal welfare worldwide, with every donation matched 100% by Bonk.
• 0:08
  What it looks like when a meme coin community rallies around a cause, and what it says about the power of crypto philanthropy.
• 0:13
  The stories of Bonnie the Elephant, Dude the Moon Bear, Big Papa the Orangutang, and the other incredible guardian animals at the heart of the Buddies for Paws community, and how creativity, storytelling, and community engagement are making giving fun and driving real impact for animals all over the world.
• 0:30
  Welcome to Crypto Altruists, where we explore the intersections of Web3 and Social Good to the stories of impact-driven builders and offer actual insights to empower your journey into the world of blockchain for good.
• 0:39
  I'm your host, Drew Simon.
• 0:40
  Now before we dive in, please remember that this is not financial or legal advice, and always do your own research on any of the projects or investment opportunities that we discuss.
• 0:48
  Welcome back to the Crypto Altruist Podcast, and thanks so much for joining today.
• 0:51
  Before we dive in, I want to chat about the current context that crypto is operating in.
• 0:55
  Markets are down, we've seen ups and downs across the crypto space, and there's been plenty of doom and gloom in the headlines.
• 1:00
  But one thing I keep coming back to is the fact that crypto philanthropy isn't slowing down, it's accelerating.
• 1:05
  In 2025, cryptocurrency donations processed through the giving block topped 100 million, the largest annual total recorded by the platform, bringing the cumulative total process since 2018 to more than 300 million.
• 1:16
  And one in five nonprofits on the giving block raised over 100,000 in crypto in 2025.
• 1:20
  At the same time, endowment has surged to close to 150 million in total donations, with an emphasis on donor-advised funds to drive sustainable giving.
• 1:28
  What this tells me is that despite all the volatility, the crypto community keeps showing up, and today we're going to dig into a fantastic case study on the power of crypto philanthropy.
• 1:37
  So for episode 254, I'm joined by Allison, contributor at Buddies for Paws, a charitable initiative within the Bonk ecosystem that's leveraging blockchain technology to support animal welfare and wildlife conservation worldwide.
• 1:48
  Every donation made through Buddies for Paws is matched 100% by Bonk, and to date the community has raised almost$600,000 for animal welfare.
• 1:55
  And what makes Buddies for Paws special isn't just the model, it's the storytelling.
• 1:59
  Through their Guardian Animals program, donors can follow specific animals like Bonnie the Elephant, who was struck by a train and abandoned by a herd before being rescued by wildlife SOS or Big Papa the Orangutang, who is now living peacefully on a protected forest island in Borneo.
• 2:11
  It goes beyond statistics and spotlights the powerful story of incredible animals with names, and the community gets to be a part of their journeys and their stories.
• 2:20
  So today we're going to talk about how Buddies for Paws came to be, what the partnership with Bonk has unlocked, the power of meme coin communities rallying around causes, and what the future of crypto philanthropy might look like.
• 2:30
  So let's dive in.
• 2:32
  Alison, thank you so much for taking the time to be here today on the Crypto Ultra's podcast.
• 2:48
  Thank you so much for having me, Drew.
• 2:50
  I can't wait to share more about Buddies for Paws.
• 2:52
  And I want to learn about your your foster cat and dog as well.
• 2:56
  They may make an appearance.
• 2:58
  We'll see.
• 2:58
  Sometimes they do.
• 2:59
  They're my uh hosts.
• 3:01
  So yeah.
• 3:02
  Um amazing.
• 3:03
  So yeah, let's uh let's dive right in.
• 3:05
  I'd love to learn about you to kick things off.
• 3:07
  Um, I understand that you're relatively kind of new to this space.
• 3:10
  Um, and so I'm curious, like, how did you you know get to where you are today?
• 3:13
  Tell me about your journey to working with uh Buddies for Paws.
• 3:17
  Um, yeah, so my introduction to the Web3 space pretty much happened at the same time that I joined Buddies for Paws.
• 3:26
  Um my very first week or second week in Buddies for Paws, I went straight to Solana Accelerate in New York.
• 3:34
  So I was fully immersed into the space right quickly, which was a like a brilliant way to learn.
• 3:41
  And I guess what really stood out for me, especially for Buddies for Paws, is how they're using Web3 and blockchain technology to support these amazing real-world causes and make real meaningful change.
• 3:53
  Um I'm sure as a lot of people will know that are in the space, like blockchain technology and um like and the transparency of it all is like a really amazing, efficient way to do fundraising.
• 4:08
  So for me, sort of like the combination of the technology, the mission, and then really the passion of the community was just yeah, it was a brilliant introduction, and I haven't looked back since.
• 4:20
  And I've all I've been here just over a year.
• 4:23
  Just over a year, wow.
• 4:24
  So you just like dove in headfirst, uh going to the conference.
• 4:28
  Um yeah, that must have been a lot.
• 4:30
  It was a lot, but it was really exciting, and it was also just I think I don't really know what my expectations were, but whatever they were, it wasn't what I was expecting.
• 4:41
  It was just yeah, just this, just like a real incredible community and people who are really passionate about the world of web 3.
• 4:49
  And they really my experience anyway has been that people want to teach you and want to show you how it works, but they also really want to be involved in um, shall we say, the positive sides of web three, which I don't really feel gets a lot of exposure in the headlines.
• 5:06
  Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 5:07
  And that's one of the reasons that I really started uh Crypto Alchist is right as well to help kind of like shift that narrative and you know show that positive.
• 5:13
  And this is a great example of that.
• 5:15
  And so maybe we could start with just kind of like a high-level overview of what Buddies for Paws is and what's the mission.
• 5:21
  Sure.
• 5:21
  Um so Buddies for Paws is a fundraising initiative, and we're within the bank ecosystem.
• 5:28
  Um, what we do is we uh help fundraise and support animal welfare and wildlife conservation charities all over the world.
• 5:37
  Uh we currently have six core charities that we're supporting, um, which I can list for you.
• 5:43
  So we have Dogs for Better Lives, Orangutan Outreach, Save the Chimps, Scottish SBCA, Sea Turtle Conservancy, and Wildlife SOS.
• 5:53
  So they're all doing different things, but they have like the same mission to help fundraise for animals, um conserve them, or get them back to better health.
• 6:06
  Like, yeah, they're all doing incredible things.
• 6:08
  And every single charity we work with is vetted through the given block.
• 6:13
  And uh that's also how we manage our donations.
• 6:15
  So yeah, our our our real mission is to fundraise for these incredible charities, but also just show that Web3 can be used for amazing things.
• 6:26
  Yeah.
• 6:27
  Yeah, that's amazing.
• 6:28
  I love that.
• 6:28
  Yeah, it kind of has that dual purpose of raising funds for an important cause, but then also showing a really cool use case of Web3 and really kind of inspiring and catalyzing, you know, folks within the Web3 community.
• 6:38
  And, you know, I know a big part of this is the partnership with Bonk, uh, which many will know about is uh like a meme coin within the Solana ecosystem that's really at the heart of this model.
• 6:46
  And I understand that every donation is matched 100% by Bonk.
• 6:50
  So tell me a little bit about this partnership.
• 6:52
  Um, yeah, so uh Bonk itself was actually named after a real life dog.
• 6:58
  So sort of like from the very beginning and the inception of Bonk, you know, the community is full of animal lovers, um, they're really passionate about animal animal welfare.
• 7:08
  Um, and then there was also this idea of the Web3 community fundraising and supporting animal charities.
• 7:15
  So it all just felt like a very natural fit for them.
• 7:19
  Um and then just before my time in late 2023 at the global hackathon in Taipai Blockchain Week, a few developers had sort of heard about this idea of but it was known as Bonk for Pause at the time.
• 7:35
  Um you know, it started to get around the hackathon, and some of these developers built the original donation platform, and then it just sort of really brought the initiative to life.
• 7:47
  And then alongside that, like you mentioned, there's a bonk match.
• 7:51
  So that was always going to be something at the very start of the initiative because the idea was that donors should really feel like their contribution was really making a difference, and even if you could donate one dollar, that's going to be almost two dollars going to the charity.
• 8:06
  So I guess every little helps.
• 8:08
  Um, and yeah, and then as soon as the platform was ready, basically we launched um properly, I guess, in like March 2024, where we hosted one of our very first fashion show fundraisers in Hong Kong.
• 8:23
  And then from there, the events have just gone on and on.
• 8:27
  So yeah.
• 8:29
  It's a real community, community effort.
• 8:32
  Yeah, no kidding.
• 8:33
  And I love how like you have the uh the like a lot of the in-person activations in as well, because I know like, you know, in Web3, a lot of it is online, which is fine and great, but you know, there's nothing like an in-person kind of like gathering and experience to bring people together as well.
• 8:46
  And uh you mentioned uh that it was originally called Bonk for Pause.
• 8:49
  So uh I understand that last year in 2025 it rebranded to Buddies for Pause.
• 8:53
  So talk to me about that.
• 8:54
  Why, why the shift and and what does that represent?
• 8:58
  Um I guess for the name change, it was really just making it, I guess, a bit more accessible to everybody.
• 9:07
  So both within Web3 and outside of Web3.
• 9:11
  Um Buddies also just kind of represents what we're trying to do.
• 9:15
  So, you know, like we're a buddy to the charities, or anybody who donates can become a buddy.
• 9:21
  Um, the people who work at the charities are buddies for animals.
• 9:24
  So it just felt like a bit more of like a universal um name that I think if you're outside of the communities well, you'll also have a better idea of what of what it means.
• 9:37
  Yeah, yeah, for sure.
• 9:39
  Yeah, no, absolutely.
• 9:40
  I think that makes sense.
• 9:41
  And you know, we talk a lot about like bridging the gap for folks that aren't, you know, involved in web three, and I think this is a good way to kind of like help with that.
• 9:47
  And and I think part of it too is because there is, we talked about that kind of perception around Web3, and that certainly extends to meme coins.
• 9:54
  Um, you know, there's a lot of perception around them being like speculation and just like a you know a casino sort of thing.
• 10:00
  And you know, I know that this project really kind of shows another light to that.
• 10:04
  So I'm I'm kind of curious, like, you know, what are your thoughts on this and how what has the community really shown what's possible when it comes to meme coins and rallying around important causes?
• 10:14
  I mean, yeah, I guess I would agree with sort of like that sentiment.
• 10:16
  Certainly for me personally, before being part of Buddies for Paws in the Web3 world, my awareness of meme coins is probably like similar to like a lot of people outside the web space, that it is sort of speculative and maybe for personal gains.
• 10:31
  Um But as soon as I entered the space, I I found a community that was hugely passionate, very generous, very altruistic, very philanthropic, enthusiastic to help.
• 10:45
  Um, and certainly the Bonk community has consistently shown up to help with our fundraising efforts.
• 10:51
  And people outside of the Bonk community have also partnered up with us to do stuff.
• 10:56
  So um I just I think it's an amazing uh story that maybe isn't amplified enough because it doesn't grab the headlines.
• 11:06
  And like to date, we've raised almost$600,000 for animal welfare charities all over the world.
• 11:12
  So I think that just goes to show that once a community gets together for a great cause they want to support, it's yeah, it's incredible.
• 11:22
  Like it's my perception of meme coins is completely changed.
• 11:28
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 11:29
  And I think that like something I discovered really early on around meme coins was that, and we talked a lot about in the kind of earlier days of this idea of like D-gens versus regens or something like that, of you know, like the the gambling versus like the crypto for good, but you know, I think there's so much that can be learned from like meme coin communities around the ability to just like rally, you know, around a cause to like gather capital quickly to like you know amplify things and get the stories out there and get people like excited about things, which is so important in this in this world.
• 11:57
  Have you found that?
• 11:58
  Um, yeah.
• 11:59
  I mean, like I say, I just think anybody I've encountered just been so enthusiastic about it, and people are sort of more and more, I guess, struggling with like the um, you know, there's pressures on people financially, and there's this whole community out there who have money that they're willing to donate, and it's often quite a younger generation as well that are so like generous.
• 12:24
  So yeah, like I have personally nothing really anything but positive to say about I guess like the meme coin culture.
• 12:34
  So yeah, absolutely.
• 12:36
  Yeah, and I mean I've seen so many great examples of meme coins, you know, doing some sort of social impact project.
• 12:41
  And and so there's been so many great examples of this, and you know, natural disasters we've seen communities come together and raise funds quickly.
• 12:47
  Um, and you're right about the age too, and the importance of that, you know, can't be understated.
• 12:51
  I know in the US, I think the average age of donors is around 64 or so uh for charitable donations.
• 12:56
  And you know, recent research found that I think it was 38 was the average donation or donor in crypto.
• 13:01
  So really kind of a different, uh massive uh change there, which is really important for nonprofits that are struggling to kind of you know diversify their fundraising.
• 13:09
  But um, yeah, I'd love to shift gears now and talk a bit more about kind of the impact.
• 13:13
  You know, something that really stood out to me was the Guardian Animals program, uh, where donors can follow specific animals, uh, one of them being like, you know, uh Banny, if I'm not sure pronounced that right, the elephant, do the moon bear, and big papa the orangutan.
• 13:25
  Love the names, by the way.
• 13:26
  Uh so tell me a little bit more about this program and kind of you know why the storytelling element is so important to your work.
• 13:32
  Um yeah, so the Guardian Animal Program, it just really allows us to have tell like a much deeper story about the work that the charities are doing.
• 13:42
  It's not just sort of, I guess, like we name the charity and then you know, don't really share any more information about them.
• 13:48
  Um it sort of makes the fundraising, I I believe, makes it feel less abstract and it allows people who don't donate to follow real animals and their journeys.
• 13:59
  Um we have five animals in our guardian um program.
• 14:05
  So we have Banny the elephant, you did say her name correctly, um, do the mummy, Drew the Moonbear, uh Big Papa the orangutan, and then we're actually responsible for naming the next two.
• 14:17
  So we have Buddy the sea turtle and hero, the assistant's dog.
• 14:22
  And they all, I think the other thing that's amazing about it is they all represent very different stories.
• 14:28
  Um, you know, for example, like um Drew was rescued from a buyer bile farm in Vietnam, and Big Papa spent the first part of his life in the illegal pet trade.
• 14:40
  But then we also, on the flip side, we then have Hero, who is a golden lab who's trained to become an assistant dog at Dogs for Better Lives, and the work that they do, um, they either take purpose-bred dogs or rescue dogs and they retrain them to become assistant dogs for people who need them.
• 15:00
  Maybe they've got like autism or hearing difficulties.
• 15:04
  So um, I just think it's a really amazing way to sort of show where people's donations are going.
• 15:12
  Um, it's been amazing, especially getting to follow Hero's journey.
• 15:17
  You know, we started following him from him being a puppy.
• 15:19
  He's now one year old.
• 15:21
  He's finished his first year with his volunteer pet raisers, and now he's moving back to the training facility in Oregon to continue his journey to become an assistant dog.
• 15:31
  And also we get to hear really cute pictures of him as well.
• 15:35
  So, you know, it's just um yeah, it's it's an amazing way, I think, for people to really connect to the stories of the animals that we're supporting and they can see what impact they're having.
• 15:48
  Um, another one is like when you even when you get to tell people uh in real life about them.
• 15:54
  So for example, Big Papa, um yeah, he spent the first I believe I'm going to get this maybe wrong, the first at least 15 years of his life in the illegal pet trade, and he's now on his own private island thanks to um a manga tang outreach, and he has three girlfriends.
• 16:13
  And I just life's good for him, yeah.
• 16:17
  Yeah, life is good, but you know, like he'll never unfortunately, because of how his life started, he will never be able to go back out into the wild.
• 16:27
  So he's getting to live a life as close as possible to what he would in the wild, and that's all thanks to people's donations.
• 16:36
  So it's like you get to, you know, you start the story with a bit of a sad tale, but then you can see, but look at what your donations are doing, they're helping Big Papa live the life that he should be.
• 16:49
  So yeah, I think the Guardian Animals is just a fantastic way to really show amazing impact.
• 16:55
  Absolutely.
• 16:56
  And I think that's so important.
• 16:57
  I mean, because you know, for my work in the philanthropic sector, more so before uh Web3, one of the kind of challenges was like getting donors excited about the work because like so many charitable uh organizations, you'll make a donation, you won't really hear much.
• 17:12
  You might get like kind of a you know, an annual report or something like that a bit later on with some info.
• 17:17
  But like being able to follow it along the path is amazing.
• 17:19
  And I remember watching actually a documentary on the guide dogs in the US and the process they go through from being trained in a home and then you know in the training facility and then getting matched up with someone.
• 17:29
  It's like really amazing the process, and being able to follow along with that is really, really cool.
• 17:33
  And you know, one of the stories from reading all these that really stood out to me was was uh Banny the the uh elephant, uh, who is actually a nine-month-old elephant and tragically was struck by a train and abandoned by her herd.
• 17:44
  Um, and now is in rehabilitation with Wildlife SOS and is one of the uh amazing uh guardian animals that you support.
• 17:50
  Do you mind telling me a little bit more about um her story and kind of what it's meant to the community?
• 17:55
  Oh, yeah, definitely.
• 17:56
  I mean, yeah, so like you say, when Bonnie was just nine months old, she was struck by a train.
• 18:02
  Um, the impact was so severe that she was thrown into a field and separated from her herd.
• 18:07
  So she effectively became orphaned and paralyzed due to the spinal injuries that she had.
• 18:14
  Um she spent the first nine days in the at the rescue site where the wildlife SOS team worked around the clock to try and stabilize her condition.
• 18:25
  Before she was finally stable, they managed to then um transport her safely to one of their sanctuaries.
• 18:32
  Um I think what is really incredible about her story is, you know, I'm sure people probably thought she was never going to walk again or recover from her injuries, but the work that Wildlife SOS has done, their dedication, innovation, you know, they created a crane-assisted um sling to help lift her up so they could do proper examinations of her.
• 18:58
  Um and they also created amazing um little boots for her hind legs because she is now amazing late.
• 19:06
  She has learned to walk again and she can stand for very short um periods of time.
• 19:12
  But unfortunately, when she walks, she still sort of drags her hind legs a bit.
• 19:16
  So these boots help protect the pads on her feet and her toenails, you know, um and without sort of like wildlife SOS's dedication and determination to get her back to the to almost full health, you know, I'm sure she would have been left by the roadside, but it's also those donations that help that and allow them to come up with these unique ideas, I think as well.
• 19:42
  It also just goes to show that no two rescue stories are the same and no journey is linear.
• 19:49
  You know, um I'd certainly never heard of elephant shoes before.
• 19:52
  Yeah, neither of I, yeah.
• 19:54
  About Bany.
• 19:56
  Um sorry, I just think it's incredible.
• 19:59
  And then when again, when you tell people Bany's story, it really does tug on their heartstrings and they can see how their donations have really made an impact in improving Bani's life, and I'm sure it will help for future elephant care as well in World Life SOS because each rehabilitation they learn something new about elephants.
• 20:21
  And if you do want to learn more about Bany, we've just published a new blog post about her this month as well, so you can learn a little bit more about her journey.
• 20:29
  I mean, we even did a little QA with her, so you can learn what it is.
• 20:32
  That's amazing.
• 20:34
  That's so cool.
• 20:37
  That's so cool.
• 20:37
  It's great that you do stuff like that.
• 20:39
  I mean, the community probably loves that.
• 20:40
  You know, it's translated to success too, because you know, I love talking about these stories because I find them very powerful, you know, and and you know, shifting now to kind of the metrics, uh the bigger numbers.
• 20:50
  Uh, you mentioned almost 600,000 raised to date, all matched by bonk, which is incredible.
• 20:55
  Um, so talk to me about kind of how it all how it all works.
• 20:57
  So somebody goes on the website, donates, and then the money, how does it get to kind of the charities?
• 21:02
  Talk to me about kind of the process for uh these funds making it from point A to point B.
• 21:06
  So, yeah, you can go to the Buddies for Pause website, which is buddiesforpause.org, and you can choose whichever charity you want out of the MR charity partners and don't and donate directly that way.
• 21:19
  Um, you can also shop on one of our online stores and buy some bonk or Buddies for Pause merchandise.
• 21:26
  Um all proceeds from that go back to our charity partners and also again, everything is matched by bonk.
• 21:34
  Um, or you can also come to some of our IRL events as well and donate that way.
• 21:40
  So there's multiple ways for people to donate and help support.
• 21:45
  And and if you can't donate, because I do, I appreciate that would be a bit tough for people, even if you can just help share the story, you know, amplify one of our posts on Instagram, or if you want to host a fundraising event, we'd be very happy to help.
• 22:00
  Support people do that as well.
• 22:01
  So there's loads of ways, loads of ways that people can get involved.
• 22:05
  Um doesn't have to just be making donations, it can help amplify or you can help fundraise for us.
• 22:12
  Yeah, and that's great.
• 22:12
  I like that you have like different ways to engage people.
• 22:15
  Um, and I know that like you've uh Buddy Surprise has been really innovative in the way that they've kind of like approached this.
• 22:21
  A lot of nonprofits are struggling to break through to folks, and you uh, you know, you guys at Buddy Superprise have done some really innovative initiatives, you've, you know, fashion walks, churchy walks.
• 22:29
  And my favorite, uh, you auctioned off an artwork created by a chimpanzee, which sounds really cool.
• 22:34
  Um, so talk to me about like the approach to community engagement.
• 22:37
  Um, I mean, like you say, I think as well, charities also need to be a bit more, well, not a bit more, that's it.
• 22:44
  That's not the right phrase.
• 22:46
  Um, but I just say we need to be a bit innovative to break through the noise and I think make it maybe feel a little bit less transactional and a bit more engaging.
• 22:57
  So that's why we do things like posting the fashion shows.
• 23:01
  I mean, one thing about the fashion shows as well is it's all volunteers from the community that take part in the fashion shows, walk the catwalk.
• 23:08
  So that makes it really fun.
• 23:10
  Um, and then yeah, we do things like pub quizzes or we've um one of my favorite ones that we did was in partnership with Monkey Dow, uh uh New York uh Solano Solstice last year.
• 23:26
  We took over a retro claw machine store in New York, and people could donate to play the claw machines and win prizes.
• 23:33
  That was an amazing um event.
• 23:36
  Um, and like you mentioned, the paintings with chimpanzees at the same event.
• 23:41
  We also had a painting by Tonka, the chimpanzee, and Alan Cummen, and we auctioned that off.
• 23:47
  So I think also partnering up with people, also partnering up with people like Monkey Gow or partnering up with people like one of our charity partners, like Save the Chimps, you know, and all together with the the fashion show that we had at that event and the claw machine and the um the painting we raised for$30,000 at some.
• 24:07
  Yeah, so I think just trying to find fun ways that people can come along, have a good time, and almost like the donation is almost maybe like a like a side part of it, do you know what I mean?
• 24:25
  Like it's it's less pressure to like don't make people donate.
• 24:29
  Um and you know and we are always looking for new and fun ways to fundraise.
• 24:33
  Um personally, I'm going to be running a half marathon in September.
• 24:37
  Oh, cool.
• 24:38
  Wow, good for you.
• 24:39
  Thank you.
• 24:40
  I've never run.
• 24:43
  I've never run a 5k.
• 24:44
  So I'm getting there with training, but you know, I feel like if Banny can learn to walk again, I can surely run a half marathon.
• 24:52
  Um we're also looking into other ways that maybe people can help fundraise if they maybe want to partake in like charity skydives or charity golf events and stuff like that.
• 25:01
  So um yeah, if anybody out there has any ideas or anything they would like to do to help support us, very open to it.
• 25:09
  No idea is a bad idea, I guess, until somebody has to jump out of a plane.
• 25:14
  Yeah, yeah, yeah, fair enough.
• 25:15
  Well, that's amazing that you're doing a half marathon.
• 25:17
  And you know, it's it's so cool that you have so many different types of experiences to connect with different people, a mix of live and virtual, and just like some very innovative ones too, which is great.
• 25:26
  It makes it so that when someone's donating to, it's not just them giving money to a cause, which is great and really important, but it's also like taking part in an experience, right?
• 25:33
  Which I think is really important.
• 25:34
  And I think that you know, a lot of newer donors are really trying to kind of like, you know, are looking for and want to be a part of.
• 25:40
  And um, so that's amazing.
• 25:42
  You have your half marathon coming up, some other really cool things.
• 25:45
  Any sort of like events or anything that folks should keep an eye on for in the coming weeks or months?
• 25:50
  Yeah, on June the 13th, we'll be in Berlin at Solana Summit.
• 25:54
  So that'll give a chance for the community to come.
• 25:56
  And we're going to have an interactive stand there where people can purchase some bonk merchandise, buddies for paws merchandise, play some games and win some prizes.
• 26:06
  And we can also just sort of spread the word about buddies for paws there.
• 26:10
  That'll be um, I believe our first time in Berlin.
• 26:13
  So that's really exciting.
• 26:15
  And then on June the 24th, we're doing a pull a free Pilates class.
• 26:21
  So again, anybody can come.
• 26:22
  You don't have to be within the Web3 community.
• 26:25
  Um, that's in London.
• 26:27
  Everybody who comes will get a free goodie bag.
• 26:30
  And if they would like to make a donation, that'd be brilliant.
• 26:32
  But again, if they'd also just want to share the news about Buddies for Paws, again, brilliant.
• 26:38
  And then we've got a few other things bubbling away, but all TBC.
• 26:44
  Yeah, yeah, that's amazing.
• 26:46
  Well, I will definitely make sure to include uh the links so folks can see all that and follow along.
• 26:51
  Speaking of which, um, where's the best place for them to go to follow along and learn more?
• 26:55
  Um, so you can check out um our website, buddiesforputties.org.
• 27:00
  Signing up to our newsletter is a great way of hearing about our events as well, and the latest news about the animals and the charities that we're supporting, also any new merchandise drops.
• 27:11
  Um there's also X and Instagram.
• 27:15
  So if you want, especially like I think X is really good to get instant updates and find out what we're up to.
• 27:20
  And Instagram is brilliant if you want to see incredible pictures of Hero or Bany or Big Papa.
• 27:27
  So yeah, there's lots of different ways that you can follow us and learn about what we're doing and also share the work that we're doing as well.
• 27:36
  Yeah, definitely, definitely.
• 27:38
  Well, I will include all those links in the show notes for folks listening.
• 27:41
  Uh, you know, support this incredible cause, whatever that looks like, raising awareness, donating, getting your uh donation doubled uh with the match from Bonk, which is awesome too.
• 27:50
  Um, so I'll make sure to include all that in the show notes so you can get involved.
• 27:53
  You know, I love to end these conversations on kind of a note of inspiration.
• 27:57
  And, you know, for me, crypto philanthropy has been such an inspiring story.
• 28:01
  We've seen the community come together in so many ways.
• 28:03
  You know, I've done a lot of research or a lot of uh coverage of Ukraine relief, for example, and humanitarian aid situations.
• 28:10
  And this is just another great example, uh, you know, with animal welfare and supporting so many incredible animals and wildlife supporting organizations out there.
• 28:18
  Um, it's really amazing kind of seeing these communities come together.
• 28:22
  Um, I'm curious, like to you personally, what does this moment in crypto philanthropy mean to you?
• 28:26
  And what do you hope Buddies for Paws inspires in others, uh, listeners, community members, anyone that comes across it?
• 28:32
  Um for me, I think first and foremost, is just about making a difference and helping these incredible charities.
• 28:44
  Um you know, animals are incredibly important to our ecosystem, whether they're in the wildlife or whether it's your own domestic pets, and helping support those charities, and then also just a real positive story about the world of Web3.
• 29:03
  Um it's it's an incredible community, and we're and we're doing amazing stuff, and I'm just really excited to be part of Buddies for Paws and to show that there is um altruism and philanthropy within this community, and yeah, there's good headlines to be had as well.
• 29:26
  Yes, yes, absolutely, and this is one of those.
• 29:29
  Um, so thank you so much for for sharing that that story.
• 29:31
  And I must say as well, uh, you've said positive a couple times in the interview.
• 29:34
  Every time you say it, I picture you saying it as like a pun, like pause it.
• 29:38
  I don't know if that's the case or not, but I picture that we're making a positive impact.
• 29:44
  Yes, exactly.
• 29:45
  So yeah, I know you certainly are.
• 29:47
  600,000, uh, nothing to to bulk at.
• 29:49
  That's incredible.
• 29:50
  And and only just getting started as well, lots of great events coming up.
• 29:53
  So for folks listening along, check out the show notes.
• 29:56
  Alison, thank you so much.
• 29:57
  It was such a pleasure uh learning from you and chatting with you.
• 29:59
  I really enjoyed hearing about all these incredible stories.
• 30:02
  I will definitely be supporting and following along along myself, and I hope others will as well.
• 30:06
  So thank you so much for taking the time to be here today.
• 30:08
  Oh, thank you so much, and thank you for all the work that you guys do as well.
• 30:10
  I think it's incredible spotlight and all these incredible people in this industry.
• 30:16
  And that was Allison of Buddies for Paws.
• 30:18
  What stands out to me is the heart behind this work.
• 30:21
  Buddies for Paws isn't just a charity initiative, it's a community.
• 30:24
  It's people who care deeply about animals coming together to make a difference and finding creative, joyful ways to do it.
• 30:30
  Fashion shows, charity walks, candy machines, even a chimpanzee's artwork auction for a sanctuary.
• 30:35
  There's so much joy in this work and it's contagious.
• 30:37
  The Guardian Animals program is brilliant.
• 30:39
  By connecting donors to specific animals, they've turned philanthropy into something deeply personal.
• 30:44
  People aren't just donating to a cause, but they're following a journey.
• 30:46
  They're invested in an outcome, and that emotional connection is what sustains long-term support.
• 30:51
  The Bonk Partnership is also a powerful example of what's possible when a meme coin community decides to leverage their energy, capital, and community spirit for good.
• 30:58
  The 100% match has unlocked nearly$600,000 in donations for animal welfare, supporting nine incredible charity partners around the world.
• 31:05
  That's real impact: elephants getting medical care, moonbearers finding a sanctuary, orangutans being protected.
• 31:11
  And it all started with a community that decided to channel their energy into something bigger.
• 31:15
  I also love what this represents for crypto philanthropy more broadly.
• 31:18
  Despite market volatility, despite the noise, the crypto community keeps showing up for causes that matter.
• 31:23
  Buddies for Paws is proof that memes and meaning can absolutely coexist.
• 31:27
  So for listeners who want to get involved, whether that's donating, attending an event, or just following along with the Guardian Animals, we've included all the relevant links in the show notes.
• 31:35
  A huge thank you to Allison and the entire Buddies for Paws community for the important work you're doing and for showing the world the power of crypto.
• 31:41
  The animals are lucky to have you on their side.
• 31:45
  And that wraps up today's episode of CryptoUltruists.
• 31:47
  Thank you so much for tuning in.
• 31:48
  I hope you enjoyed the conversation as much as I did.
• 31:50
  If you're inspired to explore more stories at the intersection of Web3 and Social Impact, be sure to visit us at CryptoAltruist.com for articles, resources, and more.
• 31:58
  And if you love what you heard, it would mean the world if you could rate with you and subscribe to the podcast.
• 32:01
  Your support is huge in helping us reach more listeners like you and keeping the platform going strong.
• 32:06
  Thanks again for joining us, and I look forward to having you back for the next episode.
• 32:09
  Until then, let's keep showing the world the good of crypto.