June 2011 Newsletter
Hello!
It’s the first of June and already we are experiencing temperatures in the high nineties with heat indexes in the triple digits. With these high temperatures now we can only imagine what the summer has in store for us.
With the extremely hot temperatures we experience here in the south and other places as well, we always want to remind people to please, please, please, do not leave your pets unattended in your vehicles. I know that people say they crack the windows, or park in the shade, but the temperatures still get dangerously hot and we see too many stories on the news about animals dying (and sadly, children) because someone said they were just “running into the store for a few minutes” or “time got away from me.” and things to this effect. It doesn’t take long for the temperatures to get to the point of causing death. Please don’t do it. There is nothing as sad as seeing a beloved pet die from heat stroke.
Happy Anniversary Yogie and Friends! Yogie and Friends celebrated its 11th anniversary on May 26th.
Military Appreciation Day: Yogie and Friends will honor our military personnel and their families with Military Appreciation Day on Saturday, 11 June 2011 from noon till 5 P.M. (weather permitting.) Admission on this day is FREE to active duty and retired military personnel (with a valid military ID card). Their families (with valid military ID cards) get 10% off the cost of admission on this day as well. They will also receive 10% off Yogie and Friends merchandise (except sale items). Parking is somewhat limited. Why not carpool?
Credit Card Use at the Sanctuary: Yogie and Friends is able to accept credit cards at the sanctuary, but it is an old fashioned method. We use what is known as the “knuckle buster” credit card machine. This is the one you put in a machine and run the handle over the credit card onto a carbon paper. Then we have to call the credit card into the company and get an approval code. Yes, it’s really an antiquated system, but it the most affordable for us and we also have no telephone or computer lines available at the sanctuary to have an electronic method of processing credit cards. It takes a few minutes, but it works for us. We only accept VISA, MASTERCARD, and DISCOVER. Cash is always accepted and takes less time, but at least we do now have this capability.
Concessions: We still don’t have any concessions stand with food because it requires food handling licenses to do so. We do have a small, covered, picnic area that people are welcome to use and bring your own food. We do have cold drinks now. We recently acquired a small refrigerator and have PowerAde, bottled water, and some sodas for sale. All proceeds go to the care of the animals. We are 100% volunteer driven and nobody receives any pay.
Upcoming Events:
11 June 2011 Noon – 5 P.M. Military Appreciation Day at Yogie and Friends
10 Sept 2011 11 A.M. – 4 P.M. Semi-Annual Bake Sale and Fundraiser at Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport.
TBD CheeBurger, CheeBurger Fundraiser
TBD Bistro Byronz Fundraiser
Upgrade Status: There has been a slight delay in getting the buildings onto our property. Recent tornadoes have impacted several families who were helping us with this project and they needed to tend to those needs. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those impacted by the recent wild weather. We thank them for all their kindness and hope to be able to help them in any way possible.
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): Don’t forget you can contribute to Yogie and Friends through CFC. CFC is a Federal payroll deduction program that Federal and Military personnel can donate to the charity of their choice. If you are interested in contributing this way our CFC number is 42427
Volunteers of the Month: We had two schools do their own fundraisers for our animals.
Students at University Elementary in Shreveport raised money and also brought us some hummingbird feeders and food to make a hummingbird garden, as well as some fire hose from the fire department to make hammocks for the big cats.
The fourth grade class at St. Mark’s Cathedral school in Shreveport held a bake sale and donated all the money to the Yogie cats.
These are some really awesome kids and they are our volunteers of the month. You all rock!
Face Book: Don’t forget to follow us on Face Book. We have a very active page and update it often with news and events as they happen. Tell all your friends about us. We’d love to get a huge fan base.
Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Donation Program: The Enrollment period for the 2011-2012 Program Year is 1 June – 31 December 2011. The accumulation period is 1 July 2011 – 30 April 2012. This is the time frame that money is accumulated when you use your linked Kroger Plus Card. If you are already a Neighbor to Neighbor participant, and Yogie and Friends is linked to your Plus Card, you will need to relink it again during the enrollment period. It is so easy to do. Just give the cashier the letter we have linked on our website. The old letters work since it is the same barcode. The cashier will scan that and your Plus Card and it will be linked. Every time you shop at a Kroger in Texas and Louisiana and use your card, then a percentage of the sale goes to Yogie and Friends. Kroger gives a portion of $1 Million to local Texas and Louisiana programs through this program. Let’s see if Yogie and Friends can be one of the top 20 this year. The top program made over $50,000 through this. We would love to see the big cats benefit by our shopping at Kroger.
A few ways to help financially:
An easy way you can help the cats is when you do your shopping on-line is by using iGive. If you do your shopping on-line then you can contribute by shopping through the iGive tool. Everything helps. Visit www.iGive.com and select Yogie and Friends as your cause when you shop. It’s so easy.
Coins for Cats! Do you empty your pockets of all your coin when you get home and throw them in a jar or piggy bank? Well, what a great way to get kids involved in fundraising help for the animals. A little coin can go a long way! That little bit of effort can end up being a nice chunk of change.
Go Green with our ink jet and cell phone recycling program. This program has been doing very well. What a way to help the big cats and environment all at the same time. It’s an easy way to get kids involved as well. Details are listed on our website.
We have several programs for you to help our animals: www.magfundraising.com, www.igive.com, Cause ID 19883, www.networkforgood.org, www.goodsearch.com, just to name a few. They are all listed here on our website.
Please come out and visit the sanctuary and see how well loved and cared for these animals are. It’s also very educational for our visitors.
Jenny and the Yogie Cats!
Posted in Monthly Newsletter