April 2011 Newsletter
Happy Spring!
Yogie and Friends begins its 2011 season tomorrow. The sanctuary will be open from noon – 5 P.M. (Weather permitting) and it looks like it will be a perfect weather day for our visitors. We hope you’ll come out and visit us tomorrow and often.
Volunteers: We want to remind people that Yogie and Friends is a 100% volunteer driven rescue sanctuary. Nobody receives any compensation for the work we do. We have a great crew of volunteer staff and we love what we do. We appreciate all the volunteers who come out and help us with mowing, weed eating, cleaning, and just whatever is needed to be done to make life as stress free and comfortable for these animals.
Finances: Whenever you donate to any non-profit you have a right to know where your tax-deductible dollars go. Never be afraid to ask about the financial solvency of a non-profit. If they balk at answering your questions, then you may want to rethink who you are donating to. Visit Guidestar.org and you will also be able to view an organizations tax forms. There is nothing wrong with knowing if organizations are being good stewards of your donations.
Den Houses: Two of the Cellexion people came out to Yogie and Friends to see what kind of logistical issues we are facing in order to get the buildings out to the property that will be used for den houses. We don’t know at this time what we will need for equipment to do so. That is what is currently being determined. Fortunately the buildings are only about 9000 pounds, which at first we thought they were 15,000. This will make maneuvering them a bit easier. We do have to prep some of the area around a couple of pens to make it more level and dirt was purchased to do this. We hope to get assistance from the Navy Sea Bees and other construction companies to ensure we are ready to put the buildings in place. Our new deadline with Wildlife and Fisheries is July and we really hope to be done well before that.
Bake Sale and Fundraiser: Our bake sales get better and better. This last one was the best and most successful to date. Keep watching for our updates on this and all fundraisers. Thanks so much to those who helped make it such a success. The bakers, volunteers, and most importantly, those who came out and bought items in order to support the big cats. We couldn’t do it without you.
Gift Shop: We have a small gift shop at the sanctuary that you can buy some really nice gifts. We have a nice selection of t-shirts, ceramic mugs, tiger umbrellas, puzzles, animal figurines, and more. Come check us out. Again, 100% of the proceeds go to the care of the animals.
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.
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): Yogie and Friends has been told that they will not be able to be part of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) for the second year in a row. They changed some of the requirements for how the IRS forms are filed and since we are such a small organization we file the IRS 990ez, which is pretty extensive. However, they want a different form to be used and it’s too late for that. They also said they won’t accept organizations that use the accounting method we use, so we will change that during this new year to be eligible for next year. But, CFC has accepted us in the past, and shouldn’t have based on that. We are going to file an appeal and complaint regarding this. It may not do any good, but it may help change some of the forms used for smaller organizations. We can only hope. CFC is a government employee payroll deduction program. The military uses this as well as postal employees and other Federal employees. It’s a great help to our animals because it is an easy way for folks to contribute to the big cats. Since we will not be able to be part of the payroll deduction program we hope donors will look at donating directly to Yogie and Friends. We have several donors who choose to have a monthly donation come out of their checking accounts directly to Yogie and Friends. By doing this there are no fees. PayPal charges a small fee. Just 2%. Others have much higher fees. CFC has fees. You can still help the animals by setting up your own payment plans and this way the animals will not lose out. Thanks for your help with this.
Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Program: The Neighbor to Neighbor program will end this year’s cycle on 30 April 2011. The accumulation period for the 2011 – 2012 year begins again in July 2011. You will need to relink your Kroger Plus Card again, but please use your cards like crazy and help the cats while you shop at Kroger. The letter is linked on our website. The barcode numbers remain the same. Just download this letter and make sure you hand it to your cashier to scan it along with your Plus Card and this will link it together so Kroger’s in Texas and Louisiana will donate a portion of the sales to Yogie and Friends. It’s a win, win situation. No money comes out of your pocket (other than what you are paying for your groceries of course). This is Kroger’s way of giving back.
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! I recently emptied a little piggy bank I throw all my change in when I come home. It wasn’t even full, maybe half so. It added up to $106! That little bit of effort ended up being a nice chunk of change. I gave it to Yogie and Friends. This is a neat way for kids to be able to help the animals with very little effort.
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.
Let the 2011 Yogie season begin!
Jenny and the Yogie Cats!
Posted in Monthly Newsletter
March 2011 Newsletter
Greetings!
March is here and that means Yogie and Friends is gearing up for its 2011 season. At this time our scheduled season opening is 2 April 2011 from noon – 5 P.M. Weather permitting of course. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for us to open as scheduled.
Natasha: Many of you already know this, but on 17 February 2011, we lost our beloved Siberian tiger, Natasha. Natasha arrived at Yogie and Friends with her litter mates, Morticia and Gomez, October 2000 at around the age of 5 months. They arrived from Texas after being exploited as photo cats. That is where people pay money to have their photos taken with baby animals like lions, tigers, leopards, etc. These animals are sadly pulled away from their moms at birth and then hand raised. They are dragged around the country and used as money makers for unscrupulous people. Fortunately, Natasha was young when she was rescued and had as good a life as any captive animal could have. She shared a habitat with Gomez and Putty Tat, had a large swimming pool that she loved to play and swim in, and had an all natural diet that offered her enrichment as well. She was happy and active up until the moment she died. There were never any signs of illness. That is why her death came as such a shock to us all. The necropsy showed that she had lymphoma. We will miss our Natasha.
Bake Sale and Fundraiser: This Saturday is our Spring Bake Sale and Fundraiser. These are always a huge success and we have a great variety of baked goodies and Yogie and Friends merchandise. We have a new selection of The Mountain tee-shirts, Cardew Collectible Ceramics, and much more. We hope to see you there on Saturday 12 March 2011, 11 A.M. – 4 P.M. Petco at 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport.
Upgrades: All upgrades are completed except for the den houses. We are still working out the details of that with Cellexion. More news as we get it.
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.
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): Yogie and Friends is resubmitting the paperwork to get back on the books of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). CFC is a government employee payroll deduction program. The military uses this as well as postal employees and other Federal employees. It’s a great help to our animals because it is an easy way for folks to contribute to the big cats. There was a paperwork mix-up last year and that is why we are not currently seen in the campaign booklets. We will be next time. All paperwork is done and being submitted. Thanks for your continued support and patience regarding this. Our CFC number is 42427.
Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Program: The Neighbor to Neighbor program will end this year’s cycle on 30 April 2011. The accumulation period for the 2011 – 2012 year begins again in July 2011. You will need to relink your Kroger Plus Card again, but please use your cards like crazy and help the cats while you shop at Kroger. The letter is linked on our website. The barcode numbers remain the same. Just download this letter and make sure you hand it to your cashier to scan it along with your Plus Card and this will link it together so Kroger’s in Texas and Louisiana will donate a portion of the sales to Yogie and Friends. It’s a win, win situation. No money comes out of your pocket (other than what you are paying for your groceries of course). This is Kroger’s way of giving back.
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! I recently emptied a little piggy bank I throw all my change in when I come home. It wasn’t even full, maybe half so. It added up to $106! That little bit of effort ended up being a nice chunk of change. I gave it to Yogie and Friends. This is a neat way for kids to be able to help the animals with very little effort.
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.
As Bob Barker always likes to say “Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed and neutered.”
Jenny and the Yogie Cats!
Here’s a peek at one of the new t-shirts!
Coming to the online store soon!
Posted in Monthly Newsletter
February 2011 Newsletter
Greetings!
Well, on this first day in February here in Louisiana, we are experiencing some very non-southern type cold weather. As of this typing the wind chill is 6 degrees and people here are not used to this. Most people move south to get away from the cold. Please be safe out there. For those of you who have outdoor animals please check their water often and make sure it isn’t frozen over. Provide them shelter from the elements and a clean, warm bed to stay in. Please don’t let them be exposed to these extreme cold temperatures and the wind. And be careful with yourselves. The animals need their humans to care for them.
Since the weather has gone a little crazy down here there has been a delay in getting the den houses to the property. We don’t want to take any chances and safety is a primary concern with anything we do on the Yogie property. These buildings weigh so much that they require a lot of skill and care with getting them into place. We don’t want anyone getting hurt, or worse, killed while transporting them. We are excited to be getting these buildings, but will use a great deal of caution. We’ll update you as soon as we know more.
Volunteer Needs: We currently need folks with experience installing laminate flooring. We are installing this in the Director of Animal Care’s quarters in order to prepare to accept interns to the sanctuary. We want to prep the spare room for this purpose. Also, with the kind of dirty work we do at the sanctuary having carpet in the home is messy and hard to keep clean. This will help a great deal. We also have a peel and stick floor to install in the admissions building. We would like to get this done prior to our season opener in April if possible. Volunteers must be 18 or older (17 for active duty military). If you are interested and can help, please contact us at yogieandfriends@hotmail.com.
2011 Calendar of Events
| 27 Feb 2011 | 1:30 – 3 P.M. | Vendor Booth at Pet Parade, Riverview Park, 601 Clyde Fant Parkway, Shreveport |
| 12 Mar 2011 | 11 A.M. – 4 P.M. | Semi-Annual Bake Sale and Fundraiser, Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport |
| 2 Apr 2011 | Noon – 5 P.M. | Yogie Season Opening (Weather Permitting) |
| 11 Jun 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 |
| 29 Oct 2011 | Noon – 5 P.M. |
Yogie Season Ending (Weather Permitting) |
| 24 Dec 2011 | TBD | Yogie Christmas Bake Sale Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport |
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): We’re sorry to say that we are not part of the CFC for the 2011 campaign. Unfortunately our package was lost and we were never notified. It wasn’t until a campaign representative for a local agency went to do their donation and couldn’t find us they called to say we are not listed. Unfortunately at that point it was too late to resubmit our package. But, we are hoping that those who usually donate to Yogie and Friends this way will still send a tax-deductible donation to us. If you mail us a check or money order it is a 100% donation. Other methods do charge administrative fees. The package for the 2012 campaign is completed. We are just waiting for the date we are allowed to turn it in. Sadly, this starts us over to be qualified for the National Campaign. You must have three years as a local campaign to apply. But, all is good. We will work even harder to ensure this never happens again and appreciate our supporters.
Gift Shop: Did you know that Yogie and Friends has a really nice assortment of quality gift items? This ranges from t-shirts to Cardew Collectible Ceramic teapots, mugs, and other really nice items. Stop by the gift shop during our regular season hours and see what we have. We are also working on our on-line catalog to help with your gift buying needs. We are still trying to get the costs of shipping and handling worked out before we can do this. T-shirts and some other small items are on the website or will be soon.
Facebook: Yogie and Friends has a very active Facebook page. We often update our fans often on this page and it is a great way for us to keep up with you. If you are a Facebook person we hope you will visit us and become a fan by clicking on the LIKE button on our page.
Recycling: Don’t forget about our inkjet/laser jet and cell phone recycling. This is an amazingly easy way to help the big cats and our environment all at the same time. It’s a good way to get kids involved with helping the cats. Visit our website for more details.
If you would like to volunteer for any of our events, please feel free to contact us at
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.
Please remember to spay and neuter your pets.
Please make sure you provide all your animals, inside and outside, fresh, clean water (and not covered in ice during the winter). Provide good, warm and dry shelter for those animals outside.
Be good to your animals. Be good to people! Be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Jenny and the Yogie Cats!
Posted in Monthly Newsletter