Bravo icon Lisa Vanderpump and her charity, The Vanderpump Dog Foundation, have had a hand in the rescue of thousands of dogs who were trapped in kill shelters. And she revealed that her personalized appearances on Cameo were a tremendous aid in raising money for that charity.
Her restaurants closed when most places were locked down for Covid, making filming Vanderpump Rules impossible. So, she wondered how she would keep the charity afloat, and fortunately, Cameo gave her a way to do that.
Lisa Vanderpump’s charity, The Vanderpump Dog Foundation, works ‘to help create a better world for dogs’
According to The Vanderpump Dog Foundation website, the charity is based in Los Angeles, but it’s a global effort. Founded in 2016, Vanderpump initially sought to fight the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China.
But the foundation also focuses on saving dogs in the United States. So, Vanderpump opened a rescue and adoption center in LA. There, they “focus on the rescue, rehabilitation, and re-homing of dogs to loving homes.”
Through the rescue center, the foundation hopes “to have a greater social impact on the perception of shelter dogs and encourage adopting instead of shopping.”
A breakdown of the rescue center explains they work “to rescue dogs from high kill shelters and terrible situations.”
“We find the dogs, make sure they are in good health and have the treatment and love that they are desperately in need of, then find them loving forever homes.”
How Lisa Vanderpump’s Cameo appearances sustained her charity
Vanderpump spoke with Forbes and revealed The Vanderpump Dog Foundation has “saved approximately 3,000 dogs domestically from kill shelters to date.”
But she had to strategize harder during the pandemic when her usual avenues for income were closed. She recalled asking, “How am I going to keep this charity alive? How can I do that?”
“Our restaurants were closed — everything was shut down,” she added. “This is our livelihood, so I said, ‘Okay, we can survive this.’”
Vanderpump said she “got serious with Cameo” and shared, “To this day, with my Cameos, I have raised for my foundation since Covid $383,511.14. So, that has kept my foundation going.”
She also noted that her two kids, daughter, Pandora, and son, Max, help with the foundation, and said her husband, Ken Todd, “is always supportive of everything I’ve done.”
Lisa Vanderpump’s pup charity gets 100% of her Cameo proceeds
For anyone unfamiliar with Cameo, it’s a way to have celebrities record personalized messages. Vanderpump wasn’t the only Vanderpump Rules star to utilize the tool. Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz also raised money using it.
The videos are short and cost a pretty penny, but it’s one of only a few ways to get a big-name star to play the messenger for a supporter.
And in Vanderpump’s case, the clips also benefit a good cause — so it’s a win-win spend for any super fans on your gifting lists. Her Cameo profile discloses that “100% of her proceeds [benefit] the Vanderpump Dog Foundation … working on both domestic and international fronts to create a more humane world for dogs.”
