New Non-profit The Cat Colloquium to Open

Chestertown, MD – This summer, a new kind of Chestertown non-profit, the Cat Colloquium, will officially open their doors. Part collaborative community incubator, part animal and child philanthropy, and part feline companionship, the Cat Colloquium seeks to provide a space where the community can come together creatively in the calming presence of animals.

Says Executive Director Laura Johnstone Wilson, a longtime Kent County resident, “At the Cat Colloquium, we believe that coming together to talk and collaborate is how we create community—the word “colloquy” means conversation. We also believe that animals can be a part of that process, comforting and helping people. So, at the Cat Colloquium, we have put these two ideas together: our meeting spaces invite community organizations and individuals in to meet and imagine, with a little fur-therapy from our resident cats.”

While the Cat Colloquium is not a cat rescue, the organization does get inspiration from the presence of their onsite host animals to help other animals who haven’t landed so softly, through outreach, activism and philanthropy with animal welfare organizations.

The organization will also open their doors to other community groups and individuals who would benefit from the use of their modern meeting spaces, accompanied by the presence of a purring lap-warmer or two. “Our planned opening for May 1 was postponed,” states Wilson. “We are looking forward to welcoming all when it is safe for our residents and visitors. Our work here has begun, and we are enriching the lives of others—from a distance.”

The Cat Colloquium is located on the second floor of 215 High Street, in a newly renovated historic building that also houses Stam’s Luncheonette on the first floor. The building, once home to Stam’s Drugstore, a beloved Chestertown institution, is part of a revitalization project intended to maintain several of the core spaces of downtown Chestertown integral to public life and community congregation. The Cat Colloquium’s spirit of collaboration and community connection reflects its location in one of the town’s most important “third spaces,” in the heart of the historic downtown.

Wilson says, “The Cat Colloquium is excited to provide the community a space to gather, learn, collaborate and connect, and to benefit from the calming presence of animals. We want to spread the word that this is a welcoming space. I am deeply appreciative that I have the opportunity to give back to the community I love in this unique way.”

For more information on the Cat Colloquium’s mission, initiatives, or to find out more about their hours, partnerships or use of their meeting spaces, contact Executive Director Laura Johnstone Wilson at laura@kitcare.org or visit their website at: https://kitcare.org

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~ Cat Colloquium