July 2011 Newsletter
Welcome!
Louisiana has been experiencing some pretty hot weather and far earlier than we should. We have broken a couple of records already and that’s not good. We are also in a drought. Please use common sense and be safe when working outside in these extremely hot temperatures. Please keep your animals in a safe shelter from these conditions and provide them with cool, clean water.
Upgrade Status: At this time it appears we will not be able to make our July 10th deadline with Wildlife and Fisheries. We have requested a six month extension, but hope we won’t need the entire six months. As of yet we have not heard back from them regarding the extension, but hope to soon.
John Parsons, owner of Deep South Equipment came out to see the property on June 26th and saw what the need is for moving the den houses onto the property. He will get with CellXion to see the buildings, determine weight and balance, and then he is going to loan the use of a special all terrain forklift that will be able to go over the road, onto the property, and even maneuver the buildings close to the habitats. From there we will be able to maneuver them into place, level them, and then make the necessary modifications. We will find out from CellXion when the buildings can be delivered to the property. There are eight buildings, which means four trips. We hope to know more later this week.
Freezer Fund: Well, it seems that our very large deep freeze has finally seen better days. Our freezer is quite large. Much larger than most commercial deep freezers you see in restaurants due to the special needs at our sanctuary for food storage. The freezer container itself is good. What is needed now is to increase the amount of insulation and get an entirely new refrigeration system to handle the load. The current unit can no longer freeze to the zero temperatures we need it to. This will also require us to change the electrical system to a more efficient system and get a back up generator for power outages. We store upwards of 30 – 40 thousand pounds of food at a time. We have managed to save about 20 thousand pounds, but cannot afford to lose anymore. We are looking at a cost of $15,000 for the new refrigeration portion. If we had to buy an entirely new freezer, container and all, we would be looking at more than $30,000 plus labor. As of this update we have raised, thanks to our wonderful supporters and a $5000 grant, $8200 toward the $15,000 needed for the new unit. We need to get this system fixed fast. Any and all help is greatly appreciated and your donations are tax deductible.
Cheeburger Cheeburger: We had a really good time meeting some of our Facebook, new, and old fans of Yogie and Friends at our Cheeburger, Cheeburger, fundraiser. It was a short notice event and we raised $115.00 to go to the freezer fund. This is pretty good considering we only gave about a week’s notice to our fans. Thanks so much for coming to this event and we most definitely plan to do another. Keep watching updates on our Facebook page and website.
Bake Sale: Our next bake sale is scheduled to be held at Petco on Youree Drive in Shreveport on September 10th from 11 A.M. – 4 P.M. We have the best bake sales and this is one of the most fun events we have been doing. We have the most unique assortment of baked goods and merchandise during these events. This next bake sale will have homemade jelly from one of our fans. We hope to see you at the bake sale. You will not be sorry you came.
On-Line Gift Shop: We have a very nice assortment of t-shirts available for sale on our website. All the money from the sales goes to the care of the animals. Please check our gift shop on-line. We are trying to add other items as we get them. Some of our ceramics have not been added as of yet because of the high cost of shipping such items. We are looking into different shipping methods because we want to increase our gift shop.
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). If you are a Federal Employee or military member, don’t forget you can make your donations to Yogie and Friends via 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
Volunteer of the Month: Our volunteer of the month is Justin Thomas. Justin is an animal lover who makes himself available to help all animals in need in any way he can. Whether transporting dogs to other rescue groups or coming, as he has recently, on a short notice call to come out to Yogie and help us with our freezer issues and installing new hammocks in the cat pens. Justin is an all around good guy and we appreciate his help and dedication. Thanks Justin!
Facebook: 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. Sometimes we even make special offers on Facebook for our fans and it’s a good way to spread the word. We’d love to increase our fan base.
Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Donation Program: Now is the time to reenroll your Kroger Plus Card in the Neighbor to Neighbor program. The accumulation period is 1 July 2011 – 30 April 2012. 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.
A few ways to help financially:
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. We have a very active recycling program. This is an easy way to help both the environment and the big cats. All you have to do is place the empty cartridges in a box and we’ll even get a postage paid shipping label to you. We have several businesses, libraries, and other organizations that have boxes set up just for this purpose. When they fill the box, they seal it, place the label on it, and if UPS happens to stop by your business for package pickup you can just give them this box of cartridges. Or just drop it off at any UPS drop-off location. That’s how easy it is. This all adds up to dollars for the animals. It’s an easy way to get kids involved too. Details are listed on our website.
We have several programs for you to help our animals: 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.
Your visit to our sanctuary is another special, and enjoyable, way you can help our cats. Hope to see you soon!
Jenny and the Yogie Cats!
Posted in Monthly Newsletter
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
May 2011 Newsletter
Hello Yogie Fans!
I am starting this update on a very serious note. On Tuesday 26 April 2011 our area experienced some very serious and devastating storms. There were several tornadoes in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, which we refer to here as the “Ark-La-Tex.” There was quite a bit of damage, but happily, there were no reported injuries or deaths in our area. A tornado did a great deal of damage in the Frierson-Kingston community about 6 miles south of Yogie and Friends. It was reported that about 100 utility poles were down and Yogie and Friends was without power for about three days.
At no time was there ever any damage or any animal escapes at Yogie and Friends. In fact, Yogie and Friends only received a lot of rain and a little wind. You would never have even thought there had been any bad weather in the area. One of the tigers, Gomez, was even swimming in his pool when all this weather around us was happening. Unfortunately there were several rumors that there were “Lions and tigers running loose in Frierson,” This was not so. Never, ever, did any animal escape their enclosures. A Desoto Parish Deputy even came to the property to verify that there was no damage and no escapes. All animals are, and always have been, present and accounted for.
Please rest assured that Yogie and Friends ensures that public safety is of utmost importance to us.
Upgrade Status: We are happy to report that things are moving along toward getting our den houses onto the property. The Navy Construction Battalion (Seabees) from Barksdale Air Force Base spent the week with us clearing trees, building and leveling the land and dirt in the back of the animal habitats in preparation for the buildings that are being donated by CellXion of Bossier City. The only thing that was an issue was how to get the buildings off of the 18-wheeler and down the lane onto the Yogie property. Well, this issue is resolved thanks to the wonderful owner, John Parsons, of Deep South Equipment. He is going to loan the use of a special all terrain forklift that will be able to go over the road, onto the property, and even maneuver the buildings into place behind the habitats. This is such a relief and so appreciated.
Once the buildings are in place the next step is modifications. We hope to have the buildings in place within the next few weeks. Then they’ll need to be stripped of the electrical, air conditioners, and some other items. Reinforced doors will need to be created connecting the den houses to the habitats. A few other modifications will need to be made and then that will complete the requirements that the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said we need to do in order renew our permit. Our deadline for them is July. We hope/expect to beat this deadline.
We will ask for volunteers to help with the strip down and modifications to the buildings once we do get them in place. We’ll send out e-mails and put this request on Face book as well. Keep watching for updates.
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): Good news! We are back in CFC. There was a mix-up with last year’s program and this time we made sure that we were not missed. Our paperwork was filed as soon as we knew the date it could be submitted. There was no way we were going to miss this. Too many of our fans like to donate to Yogie this way. 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: Our volunteers of the month are the guys from NMCB 28 Naval Mobile Construction Battalion, located at Barksdale Air Force Base. They did an awesome job for us getting the land prepared for the buildings coming from CellXion. They were with us all week and it was amazing watching the skills these guys have. This is what they do in the Navy and they knew just what to do to make things possible for us to meet our upcoming deadline. Thanks so much EOC (SCW) Robert Shaw. CM1 (SCW) David McGowen. CM2 (SCW) Jason Manchester. CM3 (SCW) Joseph Murrell. You guys rock!
Also, a special thank you to 2Lt Ashley Dancer, 2Lt Scott Vaughn, 2Lt Brad Yuska, SrA Makenna Williams, and A1C Alyssa Daffer from the 26 OWS at Barksdale Air Force Base. They came out on April 26th to work on some other tasks that needed to be done. Thanks so much for your help!
Donations: We recently had a little financial setback when our much needed tractor broke down. It has been repaired, but it cost us over $1850 to do so. This tractor is a huge part of the necessary equipment we use at the sanctuary and we had to get it repaired. Fortunately this kind of repair extends the life of an item like this and helps us avoid having to purchase another at possibly $20,000 or more. Its running good as new, but we could use your financial assistance to help build up some much needed funds. We are trying to prepare for the den house modifications and know we will need to purchase materials for this. Rest assured that your donations are always used in the most effective and responsible way. We are 100% volunteer driven and all money goes to the care and upkeep of the animals and sanctuary. We are a no frills facility. It’s all about the animals. And remember that your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
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