January 2011 Newsletter
Happy New Year!
We hope that everyone had a safe and blessed holiday season. We know how hectic things can get for people this time of the year.
We requested, and received, an extension from the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to complete our den house work. This will help a great deal.
Christmas Eve brought a really nice phone call. I was visiting my family in Massachusetts and received a call on my cell phone from Mona Cross, Director of Purchasing and Inventory Control, of Cellexion of Bossier City. She is the one we have been working with to get the old cell buildings to be used as den houses for our animals. Well, she said that the Verizon Regional VP will sign off on the transfer of the buildings on January 10th and that we will be able to get together and work on the logistics of getting the buildings to us as soon as possible. This should give us the time needed to make the modifications to the buildings and have our upgrades done for Wildlife and Fisheries. Hopefully much sooner than our July extension. This was a really nice Christmas gift for me and the all of the Yogie volunteer staff. We are really excited about this. We will update you all as soon as we know more.
A lot of work was done at the sanctuary during 2010 and we could not have done it without the dedicated volunteers we have helping us. We want to thank all of the volunteers and staff that made this possible. Thanks again for making this all possible.
Upcoming Events:
March 12, 2011 11 A.M. – 4 P.M.
Semi-Annual Bake Sale and Fundraiser, Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport
If you would like to volunteer for any of our events, please feel free to contact us at yogieandfriends@hotmail.com.
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.
Go Green with our ink jet and cell phone recycling program. Details are listed 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
December 2010 Newsletter
Seasons Greetings!
You may have noticed we didn’t do an update in November. Mostly because things just got away from us with all we had to do at the season end and some fundraisers. It seems time just gets away from us.
We are closed to the public for the winter season and will reopen, weather permitting, the first Saturday in April 2011.
As many of you know, Tim, our founder, had a serious injury that turned into a life-threatening infection back in July. He has been back at work at LSUHSC since October 13th and is doing well. We thank you all for your prayers and well wishes during this very difficult and stressful time.
We participated in several events in October and November. The Jambalaya take out dinner was a success. The Veteran’s Affairs Nursing Symposium at Gerald’s Savoie. This was one of the more successful vendor tables we have had in recent months. The people were wonderful to us and they even fed us a really amazing lunch. That was a pleasant surprise. We thank Michelle Phelan for suggesting us as a vendor. We also had our after Thanksgiving All-You-Can Eat Pancake Breakfast at Applebees. We even opened the sanctuary after the breakfast from noon – 2 P.M. as a trial run to see if this might be a good time to open in the off season. The weather was perfect and there was no rain keeping the grounds so wet we couldn’t open. The reason we wanted to try this is because we get calls by people who have company in for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and they are always looking for family friendly things to do. We will look at this again in the future to see if we want to try it again next year. We met new fans this time and had a lot of fun.
Holiday Gift Shopping: We have several wonderful gift items in our gift shop, but have not placed many of them on our website because the shipping costs were so high. We realize that many of our fans understand and expect this, but we knew we could not get this up and running in time for the holiday shopping season. T-shirts are always easy to ship inexpensively. We will have a vendor booth at the upcoming Benton Christmas on the Square and hope that those wishing to purchase quality gifts and help the big cats at the same time will come and visit our booth at this family friendly festival on December 11th.
Upgrades: We have finished all, but one, of the requirements that the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) want us to complete in order to renew our permit. We are still working on the logistics of the den houses and hope to get that portion completed soon. We requested, and received, an extension. That takes a little pressure off of us since we know weather and other issues can delay work.
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. We will make sure this is not overlooked next year and thank you for your continued support.
Special Thanks: We want to thank Cottens Grocery in Shreveport, and Mac’s Deer Processing in Stonewall, for providing us with deer for our animals. This is a huge savings for us financially and is a more natural diet for our animals.
Also, thanks to Paige Bass for our website. Also, her husband, Damon, for dealing with all the web hosting issues that arise. They keep our great website up and running and do a great job for us.
Upcoming Events:
Barnes & Noble Holiday Gift wrapping
16 Dec 2010 3 P.M. – Closing
19 Dec 2010 1 P.M. – Closing
22 Dec 2010 2 P.M. – Closing
This is free holiday gift wrapping for customers and they will tip if they choose. Materials are provided by Barnes & Noble. This is the Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA location.
11 Dec 2010 10 A.M. – 4 P.M. Benton Christmas on the Square
Heritage Village Square, Sibley Street, Benton, LA
Volunteers of the Month: Thanks to Nick Kaddatz for helping with the drainage work around the cat pens. Also, thanks to Brianna and Vicki Volk, Jeremy Wood, Steven Findley, and Andrea Labor for helping with the pancake breakfast. It was fun and successful. Thanks again to all our volunteers.
If you would like to volunteer for any of our events, please feel free to contact us at yogieandfriends@hotmail.com.
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.
Go Green with our ink jet and cell phone recycling program. 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 remember to spay and neuter your pets.
Also, do what you can to prevent flea and ticks causing serious illnesses to your animals. They deserve your care and kindness. Don’t stop using preventative just because it is cold outside. Some of these pests are still around in the winter.
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
October 2010 Newsletter
Greetings!
October is here and that means our season end is getting close. Our last day for visitors for the 2010 season is October 30th. With all the festivals and wet weather that comes with our typical fall and winter our visitor ship falls more than half and it is not cost effective to remain open during this time. We also do not have paved walkways or parking and that presents a slip and fall danger as well as visitor vehicles getting stuck. We hope you will come out and see these great animals before our season end and remember us during the time we are closed.
Our Founder: Tim is improving daily. He hopes to get back to work in another week or two. He’s ready but his doctor is not. It has been a long and difficult journey for him, but he is doing so much better. Thanks for the continued good wishes and prayers.
Funny Bone Comedy Theater Fundraiser: On October 8th 2010 The Funny Bone Comedy Theater on the Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City, Louisiana is holding a benefit night for the big cats. Tickets are just $10 each and they are giving $8 of that to Yogie and Friends. There are two show times that evening for your convenience. There is an 8 P.M. and 10:30 P.M. show. Tickets are available now at the sanctuary, Funny Bone, or you can send a check or money order to the sanctuary to include how many tickets you wish to purchase and the mailing address for the tickets. We hope you will come and have some fun with us. Ages 21 and up.
Update on Facility Upgrades: We had the opportunity to meet Mona Cross and visit Cellexion, of Bossier City, to see the buildings they will be donating for use as den houses. These buildings are great. One will even serve as an on-site vet clinic. The logistics will still be an issue, but we are preparing the transport area on the property for them. Hopefully soon since the current drought conditions have actually made the grounds very hard and good for moving things. Once the winter rains come we will be severely limited on what we can do and we need to get this work done soon for Wildlife and Fisheries. Once they are in place they will need some modifications such as removing all the wiring and lights inside. These buildings weigh in excess of three tons. They are constructed to withstand hurricanes and other inclement weather. We can feel pretty confident that these buildings offer great protection from really tough weather. If you would like to help with financing supporting materials or general help for the animals, you can donate via PayPal’s “Chip-In” widget on the front page of our website, or mail a check to Yogie and Friends, 128 Fob Lane, Frierson, La 71027. Stay tuned to our facebook page and our website for updates on this next project.
The fence work is complete on all pens. We have minor upgrades such as perimeter fence upgrades, but those will be done after we move the den houses in since the rear perimeter fence may need to be lowered in order to move the den houses in. That is if they aren’t lowered in by a crane. We will also need to widen this perimeter due to the size of the houses. That’s an easy fix, but requires strong workers.
Facebook: If you are already on Facebook check out Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary. We have a fan page and there are five of us who update the page often of news and the happenings at the sanctuary. This is a great way to keep in touch with us. Hope you’ll join us there.
Bake Sale Success! Our September 11th bake sale was the most successful to date. The money was used to help pay our annual liability insurance which was just shy of $600 and that is amazing. These kinds of events help us defray operational costs and keep enough funds to help us through the winter months. Yes, things do come up and that is expected. This was a wonderful and fun event and we met several new Yogie fans. Thank you all so much for coming out to the bake sale.
Esteban Guitar: Congratulations to Amy Morrissey of Shreveport, Louisiana. Amy is a Louisiana Tech University sophomore and the winner of the Esteban Guitar package.
Volunteers of the month: Thanks to Nick Kaddatz and Scott Adcock for helping complete the raising of the pen fences. You guys rock!
Upcoming Events:
8 Oct 2010 Funny Bone Comedy Theater Benefit Show for Yogie and Friends, 130 Plaza Loop, Louisiana Boardwalk, Bossier City Funny Bone will hold a benefit show for Yogie and Friends with two shows, times to be determined, at the Bossier City Funny Bone Comedy Theater. Tickets are $10 each and Yogie and Friends receives $8 for every ticket sold. Tickets are available at the sanctuary, The Funny Bone, or any of the Yogie and Friends volunteer staff. Ages 21 and up.
12 Oct 2010 Jambalaya Dinner Sponsored by the animal Krewe of Barkous and Meoux, Shavers Catering, 270 Ockley Dr., Shreveport. The Krewe of Barkous and Meoux will hold a jambalaya take out dinner at Shavers Catering. Tickets are $6 or two for $10. Tickets are available at the sanctuary or from Yogie and Friends volunteer staff and Barkous and Meoux volunteers. Dinners can be picked up at Shavers Catering between 4 P.M. and 7 P.M.
16 Oct 2010 Fall Craft Show First Baptist Church 543 Ockley Dr. Shreveport. 9 A.M. – 4 P.M. Yogie and Friends will be participating in the Fall Craft Fair/Car Show/Chili Cook Off at First Baptist Church in Shreveport. Yogie and Friends will have Cardew Collectible ceramics and other really nice gift items for sale.
27 Nov 2010 8 A.M. – 10 A.M. All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast, Applebees Grill and Bar, Bert Kouns, Industrial Loop, Shreveport. Tickets are $5 each. What a great place to stop, rest, and eat a warm breakfast after your after Thanksgiving holiday shopping?
11 Dec 2010 9 A.M. – 4 P.M. Benton Christmas on the Square, Benton, Louisiana. Yogie and Friends will have a craft/gift booth at the Benton Christmas on the Square festival. There will be many great holiday gift items available to make your holiday shopping easier and help the big cats at the same time.
Yogie and Friends Season ends 30 October 2010 and will reopen in the spring in April 2011 for visitors.
Facebook: If you’re on Facebook, we hope that you are already a fan of Yogie and Friends! If you aren’t, please join us, and ask you friends! As of this writing we have 1195 fans, but we want to get as many as possible. It is a great way to stay updated up with what is happening out at the sanctuary, too! Lots of great pics of the cats as well.
Print Cartridge Recycling Program: This is a great way to help the cats and the environment all at once. Get your office involved! All you need to do is use our pre-paid labels to ship your used printer cartridges to our recycling program, and we will receive credit towards our fundraising goals. It’s so easy! We’ll be glad to mail you shipping labels – Details are listed on our website.
Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Program: The accumulation for the 2010 season begins 1 July 2010. You can download the new Kroger letter and give it to the cashier when you check out. The cashier will link it to your Kroger plus card and every time you shop and use your Plus card, Kroger will donate a portion of the sales to Yogie and Friends. It’s such an easy way for you to help the big cats with no money out of your pocket. Please shop like crazy and use your cards when you do. It can really add up.
To find out more ways to help the cats of Yogie and Friends, see the section of our website “How You Can Help”
Please remember to spay and neuter your pets.
Also, do what you can to prevent flea and ticks causing serious illnesses to your animals. They deserve your care and kindness. Prevention should be year round and not seasonal.
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