November 2007 Sanctuary News

Hi!

Well, November is finally upon us and we’re still wearing shorts. Where is the fall? I am sure we will be wishing for warmer weather again once the cooler weather gets here.

Our 2007 season is rapidly coming to an end. We will be closing for the winter on 15 Dec 2007 and will open back up on the first Saturday in April, which is April 5th, weather permitting of course. So, come out and visit us soon. The cats sure would appreciate a visit from you.

I am sure you have noticed the new look of our website. All of us here at Yogie and Friends would like to say a very special thank you to Don Sherret for his many patient and dedicated years being the Yogie and Friends webmaster. We realize how much work goes into such a venture and we truly want him to know how much we love and appreciate all the hard work and demands we have made of him throughout these years. We truly have made a lifetime friend of him and we really are grateful for all the hard work he has done for us. He is a forever friend and cannot thank him enough.

We also want to introduce our new webmaster, Paige Bass. We appreciate her coming on board as our newest Yogie and Friends member and being a part of our team. Welcome aboard!

Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) #42427 – Yogie and Friends is now a participant in CFC. This is a big deal. CFC is a Federal employee contribution program. It is very cool that Yogie and Friends is a part of this. Federal employees include those in our military, postal workers, Veteran’s Administrative Hospital employees, just to name a few. It used to be you could only contribute to a local campaign. Now our military friends in other states can contribute to Yogie and Friends if they so choose. That is a nice change since many of our Yogie volunteers are military members and some have moved to different bases. If you want to contribute to Yogie and Friends through CFC select us as your charity. Choose CFC # 42427

Upcoming Events:

10 Nov 07, 6 A.M. – 10 A.M.: Belk $1000 Gift Card Chance. Belk Department Store is doing another Charity Day but with a bigger twist. There is the chance to win a $1000 gift card. Yes, $1000 gift card. Tickets are available now for a donation of $5 and all the money from tickets sold by Yogie and Friends’ volunteers will go directly to the care of the animals. 100%! The event will be held on Saturday, November 10, 2007, from 6 A.M. – 10 A.M. at all participating Belk stores. There’s even more to this event. The ticket, or tickets, you get from us will entitle you to enjoy 20-50% off throughout the store, including special savings on rarely discounted merchandise. Plus, receive $5 off your first purchase. And there is even more to this. You can go in the store anytime between now and November 10th and select items that are not even on sale yet, but will be that day, and they will hold these items in a layaway type program for you to receive that sale price on the 10th. Store employees can help you more with this. How cool is that? A chance for big savings and a chance to win a $1000 Belk gift card. There will be four (4) winners drawn for one of the $1000 Belk Gift Cards. If you are interested in purchasing tickets, please call Jenny at 318-286-1145Samson Siberian Tiger

23 Nov 07, 2 P.M. – Midnight: Orange and Black Friday. Do you ever want to take a break from the crazy shopping of Black Friday? Well, this is the event for you to come and just de-stress from all that shopping frenzy. WickedTickle.com is sponsoring a benefit show for the cats called Orange and Black Friday. This is going to be a really fun way to relax after a crazy after Thanksgiving shopping spree. The event will be held at Shreveport’s new 18-and-older, Harlequin Alley, 516 Texas St. downtown Shreveport. Featured performers are: Rockhouse, Bonedance, Betty Lewis and the Executives, just to name a few. Check out the rest by clinking on the Orange and Black Friday icon. Very, very, cool event. Admission is just $7 or $5 with donation of an old cell phone or empty print cartridge for recycling

Turkeys, Pumpkins, and the Big Cats – Bring a whole, uncarved, medium to large pumpkin or an unseasoned whole turkey for the cats during the month of November and get one dollar off admission to Yogie and Friends. The cats don’t eat the pumpkins, but they will play with them and the different smell and texture provide them a unique enrichment. It makes a big mess, but it is so fun to watch them play with the pumpkins. Also, the cats like a different treat of the turkeys so we do this each year around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Obviously it can’t be a Butterball or any seasoned turkey because it isn’t good for the cats. And yes, we take extreme caution to ensure that all the inside items and thermometers are removed from the turkeys to ensure our animal’s safety.

Yogie and Friends will celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of Morticia, Natasha, and Gomez, on 25 Nov. They arrived at Yogie and Friends on 25 November 2000 at the age of 5 months. They are littermate Siberian tigers and were being used as photo cats when we rescued them. They outgrew their “usefulness” for a big cat exploiter. They were no longer cute and cuddly and could not be used for public photos. Don’t ask where we prevented them from going. It is far too disgusting. But, they are happy, healthy and thriving at Yogie and Friends.

We really could use some carpentry help with our education building. We just need two outside doors installed, a bathroom and office door installed, and the overhead lights and ceiling fan installed and the building will be up and ready to go. You have no idea how much this little bit can contribute to Yogie in ways of financial help. The building can be used for birthday parties, a small gift shop, and other revenue producing events that benefit the Yogie and Friends animals. Please pass this info along to anyone you think has the time, the skills, and the volunteer heart to help us with finishing this project.

Volunteers of the Month: Our volunteers of the month are all of those who helped with our Rip Roaring Rummage sale. They are: Carol Farrar, Vicki and Brianna Volk, Mindy Manning, Pepper Lumina, Garth Owens, Anne and Eric Barkley, and Dace Stidham. Thanks so much for all your help.

Check out the programs being offered at Yogie and Friends. There is the Yogie and Friends Membership Program, Sponsorship Program, and Corporate Sponsorship Program. These are programs that help us support the animals and another way that you can get involved. Program packages are available here on our website.

Old Cell Phones? Don’t know what to do with those old phones. Can’t toss them out… They’re not biodegradable. Give them up… and help. For more information about recycling your old cell phones, printer ink cartridges and how to support Yogie and Friends Contact Jane Greenwood at 603-516-3706 or email Jgreenwood@recyclefirst.com

Do you Google? Well, then why not go to www.goodsearch.com instead and do your searches there? Goodsearch is a search engine, but they donate to charity. When you go to Goodsearch and select Yogie and Friends as your charity they will donate a certain amount of money for every search you do on their search engine. It may seem small at first, but it all adds up to dollars and cents for the animals. Give them a try.

The holidays will soon be upon up and If you are a big magazine subscriber, then your subscriptions or renewals can help us when you do so at www.magfundraising.com and purchase or renew your magazines there. You will receive a big discount at the same time helping the big cats at Yogie and Friends. They give us a large percentage. What a great gift giving idea and a fun and easy way to help the big cats.

Also, when you shop online you can go to www.igive.com and sign up for Yogie to be your charity of choice and every time you visit one of the igive affiliates they will donate a percentage to Yogie and Friends.  You can also donate at www.networkforgood.org to help the cats.

Do you shop at Kroger’s? Well we have a Kroger share card and they will donate 1% of what your grocery bill is to Yogie and Friends if you have them scan our share card. This is good in Louisiana and Texas. Send us a self-addressed stamped envelope and a note on the outside of the envelope saying: Kroger Share Card and how many next to it and we’ll send them right to you. Give them to your other Kroger shoppers.

Please remember to spay and neuter your pets. Also make sure you provide all your animals, inside and outside, fresh, clean, and cool water. Provide good shade shelter for those animals outside. NEVER leave your animals outside in the hot car. The temperatures get dangerously high and they will die in a closed vehicle.

Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Jenny Senier, Executive Director, and the Yogie Cats!


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