September 2010 Newsletter

 Greetings!

September is here and for many that means the end of the summer season. However here in Louisiana the heat tells us otherwise. Also, this will mean a three day weekend for many Americans celebrating Labor Day. If you will be out there on the road please be safe.

Our Founder: Tim Mills, founder of Yogie and Friends, is on the road to recovery from his leg injury from a puncture wound caused by a cow bone. Even cleaning up after the animals has its risks. He is home and improving daily, but has a long road to recovery. He’ll be off work for at least another six weeks and the medical bills are starting to pile up. But we are grateful that he is home and recovering. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. A special thanks to doctors Padilla (infectious diseases), Knight (surgeon) and Irby (Internal Medicine) for their lifesaving skills in getting Tim’s leg and life saved. And to the wonderful nurses, physical therapists, wound care and all the caregivers (too many to name) at Schumpert Highland and Dubuis hospital. We thank you all for the wonderful care provided Tim while in their care.

Update on Facility Upgrades:  We have great news to report. A local company, Cellexion, of Bossier City, Louisiana is going to donate the den houses for all the animals. Cellexion is the largest telecom shelter builder company in the world. They will donate all the buildings for the den houses, but we are still working with the difficult task of logistics. These buildings weigh 25000 pounds each and are transported two at a time on an 18-wheeler. They need a crane to put them in place. Hopefully we will be able to get a crane company to donate this part of the task as well. We continue to need donations to assist with other costs involved.  If you would like to help, you can 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. We hope to have more info regarding this upgrade later this week. Stay tuned to our facebook page and our website for updates on this next project.

The fence work is almost complete and we hope to get another work crew set for the weekend following Labor Day weekend. We realize this is the last hurrah for the summer revelers so we know this is not the best time to schedule any work. We are very close to completing this task and the den houses will be the final task.

Volunteers of the month: We have several people that have been helping us since Tim’s injury. We want to thank: Chuck Stripling and David Deverts from Christ United Methodist Church’s “Helping Hands” program for repairing the steps to Tim’s home to help him with his leg injury. Thanks to Eric Welch and Margherita McWilliams for their help with things like going to the dump or pulling carpeting. Jill Durivage for homecooked meals. And everyone else for all the things that add up to getting things done when we need it. We appreciate it.

Upcoming Events:

11 Sep 2010   11 A.M. – 4 P.M. Bake Sale and Fundraiser, Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport
Yogie and Friends will have their semi-annual bake sale and fundraiser at Petco. There will be lots of baked goodies and Yogie and Friends merchandise to include The Mountain brand T-shirts, Cardew Collectible ceramic mugs, teapots, and Alice in Wonderland Collectible items, as well as other unique merchandise. 100% of the proceeds go to the care of the big cats.

Esteban Guitar Raffle: We are raffling off a gorgeous Esteban electric-acoustic guitar. Raffle tickets are $10 each and can be purchased from our website. More details here!!  The drawing will take place September 11th, at our fall bake sale at Petco on Youree Drive in Shreveport. Winner need not be present, but will be responsible for pickup, or for shipping costs out of town.

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 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. 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.

Yogie and Friends Season ends 30 October 2010 and will reopen in the spring in April 2011 for visitors.

Credit Cards: We now accept Visa and MasterCard at the sanctuary. We are using an old fashioned “knuckle buster” machine that you might remember from the 70’s.  There is a 5% accounting fee on all transactions and it takes a bit longer to process since we have to call in the numbers, but it’s all good when it helps the cats. 

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

August 2010 Update

Greetings!

August has arrived, and with it triple-digit temperatures and heat indexes over 110. This is dangerous for humans and animals alike. If you work outside like we do, alternate going indoors to cool off.  You need a quart of water every hour with this kind of heat. Please make sure you provide all your animals, inside and outside, fresh, clean water. Provide good shelter from the elements for those animals that live outside.

Our Founder:  Tim Mills, founder of Yogie and Friends, recently injured his leg on a cow bone.  He was hospitalized and has undergone surgery. We are all praying for him to make a speedy and full recovery.  We are more thankful than ever for all of the wonderful volunteers who have stepped up to help the sanctuary and Tim.  Each one of you is a blessing.

Update on Facility Upgrades:  We will soon be taking on the difficult and costly task of constructing the concrete den houses. We need donations towards the cost of the den houses.  If you would like to help, 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. 

Upcoming Events: 
11 Sep 2010   11 A.M. – 4 P.M. Bake Sale and Fundraiser, Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport
Yogie and Friends will have their semi-annual bake sale and fundraiser at Petco. There will be lots of baked goodies and Yogie and Friends merchandise to include The Mountain brand T-shirts, Cardew Collectible ceramic mugs, teapots, and Alice in Wonderland Collectible items, as well as other unique merchandise. 100% of the proceeds go to the care of the big cats.

Special Visitors:  We have had some very special guests out to visit our sanctuary.  

Esteban Guitar Raffle: We are raffling off a gorgeous Esteban electric-acoustic guitar. Raffle tickets are $10 each and can be purchased from our website. More details here!!  The drawing will take place September 11th, at our fall bake sale at Petco on Youree Drive in Shreveport. Winner need not be present, but will be responsible for pickup, or for shipping costs out of town. 

Credit Cards: We now accept Visa and MasterCard at the sanctuary. We are using an old fashioned “knuckle buster” machine that you might remember from the 70’s.  There is a 5% accounting fee on all transactions and it takes a bit longer to process since we have to call in the numbers, but it’s all good when it helps the cats.  

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 1077 friends, but we want to get as many fans as possible. It is a great way to stay updated up with what is happening out at the sanctuary, too!

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

July 2010 Newsletter

Greetings!

July is here and the year is moving quickly. This is a holiday weekend that can be filled with lots of fun, but danger too. Please, if you use fireworks, do so with much caution. There have already been serious accidents. There are burn dangers due to dry conditions. Also, many animals are frightened by the noise and often they escape people’s yards because of this. Bring the animals in your house so they feel safe and secure.

We will honor our military personnel on 10 July 2010 by giving free admission to the sanctuary for active duty and retired military personnel (with a valid military ID card) and 10% off admission for their family members (with a valid military ID card). Parking is limited, so please carpool when possible. We want to get as many of our military personnel the opportunity to visit these great cats.

Facility Upgrades: We are making progress. It is moving slower than we want because we depend on volunteers and we know we are asking a lot of them to do the kind of work involved. It is very hot, physical, and labor intensive. We so appreciate those who have been helping us meet this goal. The fence work is almost complete. As soon as it is we will begin the most difficult task of the concrete den houses. This will be the most expensive as well. We will update on facebook and our website as to the needs for this next project.

Esteban Guitar Raffle: We’re doing another guitar raffle. Tickets are $10 each and the winner gets a great package that includes lessons on DVD by Esteban, an amplifier, extra strings, and much more. The drawing will take place at our fall bake sale at Petco on September 11th. Winner need not be present, but will be responsible for pickup, or if out of town, shipping costs. More details 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.

Credit Cards: We now have the capability of accepting Visa and MasterCard at the sanctuary. It’s a bit of an old fashioned method since we are unable to do it electronically. We use the old “knuckle buster” machine. It works and gives folks the option to use their Visa or MasterCard. There is a 5% accounting fee on all transactions and it takes a bit longer to process since we have to call in the numbers, but it’s all good when it helps the cats and we don’t have to worry about phone lines or power going down to use it.

Facebook: If you’re on Facebook you will see that Yogie and Friends also has a page and we are starting to get quite a few fans. As of this writing we were over 870 friends, but we want to get as many fans as possible. This is another good way for us to get the word out about the animals and another avenue to help fundraise for the animals. Check us out.

Volunteers of the month:  Thanks to Isaiah Newton, John Walsh, Amie Ferguson, and Scott Adcock for working on the fence. A lot got done and we know it was not easy.

Upcoming Events:

10 July 2010   Noon – 5 P.M. Military Appreciation Day at Yogie and Friends

11 Sep 2010   11 A.M. – 4 P.M. Bake Sale and Fundraiser, Petco, Youree Drive, Shreveport


You can help the animals by doing any of the following:

Go Green: with our ink jet and cell phone recycling program. This is a great way to help the cats and the environment all at once. Get your office involved. Throw your empty inkjet/laser printer cartridges or even an old cell phone into a box and when it is full, just seal the box, place the prepaid postage label on the box, and drop it off at any UPS location or if you have UPS pickup at your office just give them the box. It’s so easy. We’ll be glad to mail you the shipping labels. This all adds up quickly. Details are listed on our website.

Shop 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! Kids and adults alike can help by collecting spare change. Maybe you empty the change out of your pocket at the end of the day, or you find a dime on the ground. Throw them in a jar or piggy bank or any container you choose and watch how quickly it can add up. This is an easy way to pick up some cash for the cats.

Combined Federal Campaign. Just a reminder that our CFC number is 42427. This is a great program for Federal Employees and military personnel use as a way to do workplace contributions.

Cans for Cats! Kids can also help by collecting cans and taking them to the local recycling center for cash and this can also add up to a nice piece of change for the cats. It’s something kids can do to help go green and help the big cats all at once.

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.

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.

Please make sure you provide all your animals, inside and outside, fresh, clean water. Provide good shelter from the elements for those animals that liveoutside.

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

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