About Us
The Maxie Animal Fund, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization was founded in 1987 by actress/writer Sundia Kayden and her husband, businessman Dennis Belwish.
Both Sundia and Dennis became involved with the animal rights movement upon learning about puppy mills, the fur industry, and the unnecessary cruelty and torture of laboratory animals.
Since the couple (and many of their friends) continuously rescued strays, it seemed to be a natural progression to start up an organization to help the animals on a larger scale.
Dennis came up with the idea of taking the strays to Cat Shows to see if anyone attending might be interested in adopting a cat or two. Accordingly, The Maxie Animal Fund was the first organization to hold cat adoptions at various Cat Shows throughout California--starting with the Cat Fancy Show in Anaheim in 1987.
Taking this idea further, the group initiated weekly cat adoptions at pet stores in the Los Angeles area and developed a protocol for screening of clients and the follow-up monitoring of the animal's care.
Over the years, the Maxie Animal Fund established a cooperative working relationship with some twenty veterinary offices in Southern California, providing spay/neuter coupons and assistance with medical expenses for needy pet owners.
The Maxie Animal Fund was also the first organization to negotiate food donations from the pet food companies. Often, in one day, The Maxie Animal Fund volunteers would distribute as many as ten pallets of pet food, free of charge, to other rescue groups.
Currently, The Maxie Animal Fund provides food and medical care for over fifty cats in various foster homes.
There are some twenty active volunteers in the organization.
Board of Directors
Sundia Kayden – Executive Director
Richard Niederberg– President
Carla Prestininzi – 1st Vice President
Karen Prescott – 2nd Vice President
Marcia Henning– Secretary
Saundra Dowden - Treasurer
