Meet Paige O’Neill | Founder of non-profits: Musical Charities and Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue

We had the good fortune of connecting with Paige O’Neill and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paige, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. Ronald Reagan

My mother had a coffee mug with this quote above the kitchen sink in our family home. I read it every day. It didn’t mean much to me until I started making a living. I have been incredibly blessed with my careers and want to help my community and those less fortunate (including animals).

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’m most proud of my careers because I created my own path. I have a degree in Veterinary Technology and enjoyed working at vet clinics for a few years. After working for a crooked veterinarian, I quit and that started my amazing 35-year career teaching tennis as an Independent Pro. I was very involved in the tennis community including President of the Georgia Professional Tennis Association and worked with Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and others with the Atlanta Thunder. Amazing memories! I raised a significant amount of money by creating many tennis fundraisers for the community.

Discovering animal rescue directed me back to working with animals. I founded Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue in Kennesaw, GA. I dedicated 10 years of my life finding homes for dogs rescued from animal control shelters. I retired from Mostly Mutts in 2013, but continue to rescue on a small scale. I then grew a dog boarding business, which I was able to sell and semi-retire.

In 2020 I founded Musical Charities. Covid put it on hold for a while but now it’s starting to take off and I look forward to 2024. Our mission is to create events for songwriters to play, while raising money to help individuals, families, small businesses and charities.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would ask my friend what they would like to experience. If it was up to me, I’d take my friend to the downtown areas of our smaller cities surrounding Atlanta. We would visit downtown Marietta Square, and the historic areas of Cartersville, Woodstock, Acworth and Kennesaw. We could take one day to visit downtown Atlanta but I prefer to stay in more familiar areas. In the afternoons we would visit some of our favorite lunch restaurants and coffee shops. In the evenings I would treat them to dinner and find some live music, if that interested them.

We could always hit some tennis balls or play Pickleball,

However, I have a beautiful, very private home on 13 acres, and no place is more peaceful. I would hope we could enjoy cooking/grilling, conversation and (if they are a music friend) share songs and jam. And of course…pet lots of dogs. 😊

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Parents, Paul and Alyse O’Neill: I could not have asked for two better role models. They were both honest, kind and beyond dedicated to their community. I watched my mother motivate others to get involved (politically) and accomplish whatever missions she was working on at the time. She was very successful and raised money for her cause. I found my passion was with homeless animals and more recently, the songwriting community.

Pam Gadd: Pam is the former lead singer of Wild Rose, she partnered with Porter Wagner on the Grand Ole Opry and continues to write and perform. I created Musical Charities to get songwriters in front of an audience to share their songs and, at the same time, raise money for the community.

Website: musicalcharities.org

Facebook: Musical Charities