Come out for a purr-fect way to spend a fall afternoon, all for a great cause. Paws Together for Bingo & Cat Barn Celebration will be held on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Mount Gretna Fire Co., 41 Boulevard Ave. Doors will open at 11:30 a.m., and food will be served at noon. Bingo will begin at 1 p.m.

Tickets include 10 regular bingo games and four special games, as well as a catered lunch provided by Food for Thought Catering.

"All regular games are a $50 cash prize, and all specials will be cash prizes with gift cards and baskets," shared Kathy Ann Kramer, treasurer for Precious Paws Community Cats, the Manheim organization behind the event. "There will be (giveaway) prizes, 50/50, door prizes and lots of fun merchandise, including the launch of our 2027 calendar."

Proceeds from the event will be used to fund Precious Paws' trap-neuter-return TNR operations, which had been on pause during the construction of a cat barn. Now that the barn is complete, the organization has begun its community work again.

The Oct. 10 festivities will also include a ribbon cutting for the new barn, which is located off-site. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will include a toast and a short video that captures the organization's two-year journey to make the barn a reality.

"We are passionate about the welfare of the cats in our community and are continuously striving to provide them with better lives," Kramer said. "Our community of support is extremely valued, and each event is prepared with two things in mind: to raise money for our beloved cats and to give back to our awesome community."

Precious Paws began in 2021, when Manheim resident Samantha MacIntyre noticed an abundance of stray and feral cats in the community. Her efforts to rescue and sterilize the cats started small but quickly grew as the need became more apparent. In 2023, Precious Paws Community Cats became a formal nonprofit, expanding its impact, recruiting more volunteers and providing access to more resources to better serve its mission.

For the past two years, the organization has focused on construction of a cat barn that will serve as a dedicated space for recovering, rehabilitating and socializing cats that need time and support before being returned to their colonies or, in some cases, adopted into homes.

MacIntyre emphasized that there are many ways people can support the organization, including donating funds toward surgeries, medications and supplies for field care; helping with trapping, transport or recovery support; serving as short-term fosters for cats recovering from injury; and spreading awareness by educating others about TNR and the importance of sterilizing community cats.

She added that when people donate to Precious Paws or participate in an event such as the bingo celebration, they're not just helping one cat; instead, they're helping entire colonies of cats receive care, preventing countless litters from being born on the streets and giving previously forgotten cats a second chance at life.

Kramer, who has been assisted by Susan Berger Hein in organizing the bingo, encourages people to get a ticket for the event, which is limited to 100 people.

"Our events are always a good time," she said, "and it's nice to meet fellow cat people while enjoying some games, laughs and delicious food."

Prepurchasing tickets is recommended. Tickets will be available at the door for an additional cost, if not sold out. To purchase tickets, visit https://tinyurl.com/precious-paws.