BUFFALO, N.Y. — Earlier in the week we shared the kindness of both the Ten Lives Club and Bills Mafia amid Bills kicker Tyler Bass deactivating his social media accounts due to extreme hate he received following the Bills playoff loss to the Chiefs.
"I'm sure all the football players went home that day and was down after the game. So, to pin it on one person is not right at all," says Kimberly Larussa.
Larussa is the Spokesperson for Ten Lives Club, a rescue cat adoption/shelter.
The nonprofit cat adoption group had put out a call for donations in the kicker's name to the organization that he has supported throughout his career in Buffalo. Fans were encouraged to donate in the amount of $22 in relation to his jersey #2.
In the initial social media post the group wrote: "We just heard the terrible news that Tyler Bass is receiving threats after (Sunday's) game and our phones are ringing off the hook from people who want to donate $22 to Ten Lives Club in Tyler’s name."
Since then the group has raised $260,000 and the amount continues to grow.
Several organizations and businesses have donated to the cause, including Tito's Handmade Vodka, who will be matching donations up to $5,000, Azuna, who is matching up to $1,000 in donations and the Rachael Ray Foundation says they will match Nutrish's $15,000 donation!
On Thursday, Ten Lives Club appeared on the Today Show talking about the donations.
Kimberly LaRussa, spokesperson for the cat-rescue shelter said the money will be used to help more cats.
"A lot of the cats that come into us are abandoned, are homeless cats, and they come in with all kinds of needs. They may need surgery. They might need dental. All of this adds up," LaRussa said.
"So this money will make a huge impact on these rescue cats. Of course, we want to figure out how to do something nice in Tyler Bass' name to thank not only him but the community for the overwhelming support for our cat rescue."