Eyes on Houston: Friends For Life

HOUSTON – Friends for Life is a no-kill animal shelter in the Heights that works to find loving homes for pets, and has several programs designed to help keep animals out of shelters. 

Famous baseball pitcher Roger Clemens came by to visit his friend Don Sanders, founder of Friends for Life. 

They are excited to be chosen as one of three charities trying to win a grant from Reliant Energy for $100,000. The charity with the most votes at www.reliant.com/vote will get the grant.

Voting has started and will continue till Sept. 16 at midnight. You can vote as many times as you want and there is no personal information required.

"I think our goal is basically and simply to save animals. As we all know, there are so many animals, whether it be cats or dogs, that need a home, that are looking for a home, that have been mistreated and thrown out on the streets.  I think we do an awfully good job of bringing those animals into the shelter. As you know, this is a no-kill shelter so if an animal is in our shelter it will either be here for the rest of its life or it will be adopted, hopefully adopted," Sanders said.

Clemens said he has been an animal lover since childhood as has a request for his friends. They have a dream they want to fulfill if they win the money.

"Vote. That's the main thing. We want to see Don and his facility win that grant. They'll be doing great things with it if they do, so I hope everybody votes and then come down here and look to see how it's run," Clemens said. 

"With $100,000 what we will do is put it towards our clinic. We are trying to build a low-cost, free medical clinic and this Reliant gift would just be amazing in helping us go toward that and fulfill that dream. We just could not be more thrilled that Reliant has chosen us and it's really amazing the process they went through to vet charities and hundreds of applications to want to be a part of this and we were chosen, we are the Houston charity," Christine McWilliams, president of Friends For Life, said. "We are really honored and we want to do them proud. So we really hope people get out and vote. Vote for us, vote for Houston, vote for animals and show Reliant how appreciative everyone in Houston is that they would be willing to give a Houston charity $100,000."

Learn more about Friends for Life at www.friends4life.org.

An anonymous donor has offered to match the $100,000 donation if Friends For Life is chosen for the grant.