Beth Stern and fine jewelry brand Star Animal Sundays have launched a co-designed, limited edition charm symbolizing the protection for animals in need.
Stern, a NY Times best-selling author and national spokesperson for North Shore Animal League America, is known for her passion of fostering and rehabilitating abandoned felines. She has fostered, provided medical care, and found loving homes for nearly 2,000 unwanted cats and dogs.
She has also been instrumental in the creation of Bianca’s Furry Friends Feline Adoption Center which opened at North Shore Animal League in 2020. The center was named after her and husband Howard Stern’s beloved bulldog Bianca.
The limited edition charm is available exclusively on the brand’s website staranimalsundays.com, with 100 percent of net-profits donated to Stern’s charity Beth’s Furry Friends Foundation.
We caught up with Stern to learn more.
You’ve helped find loving homes for nearly 2,000 unwanted cats and dogs. Tell us about your background working as an animal-rights advocate. How and when did this become a passion of yours?
Loving animals is in my blood. When I was born, my parents already had a rescued dog who was part of the family. We always rescued our pets — Guinea pigs, chickens, dogs and cats! I always told my friends and family to rescue, rescue, rescue! I guess you can say that’s where my advocacy really began! I love educating and sharing with people my experience with pet adoption and fostering for the past 10 years. It is my life’s purpose to help animals.
Talk about your work with North Shore Animal League America.
I am a foster parent and volunteer as well as the national spokesperson and board member for North Shore Animal League America. I am currently fostering felines for NSALA and have been able to successfully foster and find loving homes for over 2,000 cats and kittens.
I also was instrumental in creating, designing, and raising funds for the 15,000 square foot expansion to their shelter. It’s called Bianca’s Furry Friends Feline Adoption Center, named after Howard’s and my beloved bulldog Bianca who inspired me so much while she was with us. It gives the felines a comfortable, cage-free setting to enjoy while they wait for their forever homes. Big open sunny rooms with shelves and kitty trees and spaces to enjoy! If you haven’t checked it out, take a trip to our Port Washington campus and see how amazing it is.
You’ve launched a collaboration with Star Animal Sundays to benefit Beth’s Furry Friends Foundation. Can you tell us about the collaboration and how it came about?
When Star Animal Sundays reached out with a collaboration idea, I knew right away that it would be an ideal partnership. As a philanthropic fine jewelry brand, Star Animal Sundays collaborates with like-minded individuals and companies that have a passion for endangered animals and their at-risk habitats. Style and spirituality connect in such a beautiful way with all the animal power charms they create and I was happy to co-design a charm that represents my dedication and passion for animals.
Tell us a little about the jewelry design and the meaning behind it.
The iconography cast within this special two-sided charm is very rich in meaning and dear to my heart. One side features the all-seeing protective eye with a white diamond for clarity and purity, along with whimsical wings that represent my mantra “time to fly,” that I use when my fosters are ready to be placed in their forever homes.
The opposite side reveals a pink sapphire, a color that means compassion, which sits at the top of a leafy vine representing abundance and growth. At the center you will see an infinity symbol, which is meant to symbolize everlasting love, something I feel for the many animals I have fostered throughout the years. The two stars that adorn the sides of the charm signify Star Animal Sundays’ respect and dedication to all animals.
When you have downtime on the East End, what are a few of your favorite things to do?
Take walks with my husband and take in the beauty that surrounds us. The wildlife, the nature. It’s magical here!
