Jr’s Paws For a Cause

Our Story

How It Started

Jr’s Paw for a Cause event started in 2016 which originated from Paws For a Cause, a dog-friendly 5k. Lauren Barbo, CVT, went on her first non-profit mission trip with Project Samana in June of 2015. Project Samana is a registered 501c3 non-profit veterinary educational medical outreach that volunteers in the poorest regions of the Samana peninsula in the Dominican Republic. Lauren felt very inspired working with such an incredible group of veterinary professionals in a third-world country that she wanted to continue to make a difference for the organization. Working with Project Samana’s dedicated group of veterinary professionals and seeing how much it benefited the people and animals of this poor third-world country inspired Lauren. She set a goal of hosting a dog-friendly 5k in her hometown, Natick, MA, to bring the local dog-loving community together for a greater purpose. That year Lauren hosted her first dog-friendly 5k sponsored by Lululemon of Natick known as Paws For a Cause where all proceeds were donated to Project Samana and Shultz Guest House, a local rescue. An unfortunate turn of events happened in 2016, just 3 days before Lauren’s first 5k. Her 4-year-old Labrador Retriever, Junior, was diagnosed with lymphoma. In 2017, Lauren held her 2nd annual Paws For a Cause 5k, which benefited Project Samana. That summer, Junior lost his battle to lymphoma. But as Lauren always says, legends never die. So in 2018, she changed the name of the event to Jr’s Paws For a Cause in honor of his memory. In 2018, the 3rd dog-friendly 5k proceeds were donated to Project Samana and the National Canine Cancer Foundation in honor of Junior.

In 2018, Lauren hosted her first dog-friendly happy hour on Cape Cod and Wine for Whiskers in Boston. In January 2019, Lauren met Tina Vissili, founder of Kyle’s Legacy. Kyle’s Legacy's mission is to support research facilities looking for innovative ways to treat and cure canine cancer through fundraising, and to help families in need fight early-stage canine cancer by offering financial aid. Since 2018, a portion of proceeds from all apparel and events are donated to Kyles’s legacy Inc, until there is a cure. in 2019 Lauren Held her 4th annual Jr’s Paws For a Cause 5k as well as various happy hours and dog friendly events.

Currently, Jr’s Paws For a Cause is hosting dog-friendly events and selling clothing with meaning. The events are hosted from Boston to Cape Cod year-round. The mission of Jr’s Paws for a Cause is to bring the local animal-loving community together while making a lasting impact. A portion of proceeds from all entities are donated make a difference in all animals' lives globally.