April 2014 Sanctuary Newsletter
Greetings Fans!
CHANGE TO OUR SEASON OPENING DATE: Our new opening date is 12 April 2014. We hate starting off our monthly update with the fact we will NOT be able to open as scheduled on April 5th. We are happy that we are finally having the much needed rain, but as a result the property is far too wet to open to the public. The parking lot is so wet that your vehicles will get stuck and that is not a good thing. So, unfortunately we will have to delay a week. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Spring Bake Sale: Thank you to everyone who came out to our bake sale at Petco on March 29th. It was another huge success and what we like to use to prepare for our opening season. Thanks again!
New Cat House Fundraiser: Now that we have the carports in the big cat pens it’s time for us to build a newer, better, cat house under them. We are building cinder block houses so they will not be subject to termites or other conditions to wear them out. We will be starting with the lion pen with our three lions, Batman, Boo Boo and Yogie, and go from there. Then we will build Moses, Morticia, Gomez/Putty Tat, and Samson after that. Cinder blocks at Home Depot and Lowes are the same price at $1.43 each 8x8x16 cinderblock. We need at least 158 for the three lion house, concrete, and braces at the top for the roof. Each den house is going to cost $500 to build. If you’d like to contribute to the cost of each den house, then you can send a check or money order to: Yogie and Friends, 128 Fob Lane, Frierson, LA 71027. Since both our VP and I are military retirees we are able to purchase materials at Lowes and Home Depot with a 10% military discount. That basically saves us the tax. We appreciate any and all help with the cost of the new houses.
Special Thanks: We want to give a special thanks to Tia Ables for the donation of 1500 pounds of USDA certified beef for our big cats. This was an awesome thing and a great help with the cost of food for our animals. Thanks so much. We really appreciate it.
Financial Support: Your financial support is always needed and much appreciated. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in good standing. We have always been, and remain, a 100% volunteer driven organization. We will NOT pay ourselves for the work we do. We do it for the love of the animals. Our normal monthly bills are: Water, Electric, Diesel fuel (truck), phone, and truck insurance. Other bills are liability insurance and vet care when needed. We are good managers of our funds and have no debt. We work hard on this to be good stewards of our money. We are trying to build up the coffers from the long off season to have funds for any emergency needs that should arise. This is why our donors are so important and we want you all to know how much we appreciate you for your continued support. Thank you!
Amazon Wish List: Yogie and Friends has a wish list to help us with feeding ferals/domestic cats in our colonies and foster care, as well as a few administrative items such as printer ink. If you would like to help with anything in this area, then please go to our wish list. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1IP8XF9GJ5B0Q/ref=topnav_lists_1
Facebook: If you aren’t already following us on our Facebook page, then please go and like on us. We are very active on the page and share lots of photos and videos of the big cats as well as sharing upcoming events and educational information of big cats and domestic pets. Please help us increase our fan page like.
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): The new campaign has kicked off and we hope if you are a Military member or Federal Employee you will donate to Yogie and Friends via CFC. This program is easy and another good way to give financial assistance to the big cats. We hope you will please consider Yogie and Friends when making your CFC contribution. Our CFC number is 42427.
Recycle Ink Cartridges and Cell Phones: Please consider helping us with our recycling program. This is something that kids can do as well and they are always looking for ways to help the animals and the environment. This is a great way to do it. Please don’t throw those old ink jet/laser jet cartridges in the trash. Give them to us. We recycle them and get cash for the cats. It adds up fast. The company we use also makes sure that they are recycled in an environmentally friendly way and that is important in so many ways. If you would like to participate in this program it is very easy. You can box up the cartridges, put a prepaid label on it that we will provide you, then drop it off at any UPS shipping facility or they can pick it up at your business if you have UPS pickup at your business. It’s a win-win situation. Help the environment and the big cats. If you need labels, then just contact us and we will get some too you.
Rescue Roast Coffee and Tea: Is now offering flavors and single serve coffee for your K-cup style brewers as well as Rescue Nuts and other products. We have the coffee, K-cups, and tea available at the sanctuary and the flea market, but you can also go to their website for your selections. This is a fair trade, organic product and available in regular roast and decaf. When you order online please don’t forget to select Yogie and Friends as your charity. We receive $3 from the sale of each bag. http://www.raisemoneyforpets.com/yoandfrexcat.html
Kroger Community Rewards Program: The new Kroger Community Rewards Program is now active. If you haven’t registered your Kroger Plus Card online yet, then you can do so at anytime. Once your card is registered you can go to the Community Rewards Program page, select Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice and then link your Kroger Plus Card to the Rewards program. Every time an enrolled participant shops at Kroger using his or her Kroger Plus card, Yogie and Friends will begin accumulating rewards. In addition, once a household member enrolls his or her card, all linked Kroger Plus cards within that household will begin earning funds for Yogie and Friends. That is if you have selected us as your charity of choice and we sure hope you have. Please make sure you register your Kroger Plus Card on line and then link Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. This only applies to Texas and Louisiana shoppers for us. Thank you in advance. Our charity NPO number is: 80724
Coins for Cats: Do you throw your loose change in a jar, or ashtray, or anyplace for that matter at the end of your day? Would you consider doing this as a way to help the big cats at Yogie and Friends? Your change may not seem like much, but it really adds up. Kids are always asking us how they can help the cats. This is a great way. How many times do you find coins on the ground? Throw them in a jar. See how fast this all adds up. It’s a great activity to get the whole family involved in. We hope you will think of the cats and do the Coins for Cats.
Upcoming Events:
12 April 2014 Noon – 5pm Yogie Season Opening (Weather Permitting)
(NEW DATE)
14 June 2014 Noon – 5pm Military Appreciation Day
13 September 2014 11am-4pm Fall Bake Sale and Fundraiser
Petco, 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA
25 October 2014 Noon – 6pm Yogie Season Finale
PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.
For the cats!
Jenny
Posted in Monthly Newsletter
March 2014 Sanctuary Newsletter
Greetings Fans!
This has been an interesting winter for us here this year. It has been colder than we’ve seen in quite a while, but we’ve been having more, much needed rain. That’s a good thing. The bad thing is that it is slowing us down just a little on getting some of the work in the cat habitats, but we will get it done.
The winter months are always very difficult for us at Yogie and Friends. Since we aren’t open to the public during these months we need more help financially. Purchasing the carports at $1090 each, then loads of soil for the habitats at $205 a load, it all adds up. We could really use your financial support. There is no gift too small and it is tax-deductible. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit in good standing. We hope you will consider Yogie and Friends as part of your giving.
Donations in Honor/Memory/Gift: Every Christmas we have a fan donate $500 to us and they give us a list of 20 names to send a card to letting them know a donation has been made in their name to Yogie and Friends. After the first time we did this the recipients told our giver that it was the best gift they had received. We have done this for birthday gifts and other special occasions. We are working on making cards for this reason and will put the program up on our website for you to choose a gift giving card like this. It’s a nice thing to give and receive a gift of giving. Especially for those hard to buy a gift for. We love this. Hope you will too.
Habitat Improvements: We had carports installed in three of the cat habitats this past Sunday. One each in Moses’, the three lions’, and Morticia’s pens. This is going to be a nice source of shade and shelter for all weather. They will hold up much better than the cloth shade we’ve been using. Next we will be building newer houses under these carports. Hopefully within the next month. We can’t wait to get those done, get the new dirt in, and new grass growing. Three years of drought have wreaked havoc on the ground and the dirt has packed and grass is not growing as much as we want. That will change soon.
Yogie Booth at Greenwood Flea Market: We had to close down our booth at the Flea Market. We knew it was going to be a short term thing and had hoped to stay longer, but we just did not have the volunteer help we needed to stay open and do all the other things we needed for the sanctuary and upcoming fundraisers. We appreciate the new friends we made, people we met, and those who supported us while we were there. It was fun.
2014 Season Opening: We are preparing the property for our 2014 season. If the weather cooperates and all goes as planned, we will open the first Saturday in April, which is April 5th this year. We look forward to it.
Facebook: If you aren’t already following us on our Facebook page, then please go and like on us. We are very active on the page and share lots of photos and videos of the big cats as well as sharing upcoming events and educational information of big cats and domestic pets. Please help us increase our fan page like.
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): The new campaign has kicked off and we hope if you are a Military member or Federal Employee you will donate to Yogie and Friends via CFC. This program is easy and another good way to give financial assistance to the big cats. We hope you will please consider Yogie and Friends when making your CFC contribution. Our CFC number is 42427.
Recycle Ink Cartridges and Cell Phones: Please consider helping us with our recycling program. This is something that kids can do as well and they are always looking for ways to help the animals and the environment. This is a great way to do it. Please don’t throw those old ink jet/laser jet cartridges in the trash. Give them to us. We recycle them and get cash for the cats. It adds up fast. The company we use also makes sure that they are recycled in an environmentally friendly way and that is important in so many ways. If you would like to participate in this program it is very easy. You can box up the cartridges, put a prepaid label on it that we will provide you, then drop it off at any UPS shipping facility or they can pick it up at your business if you have UPS pickup at your business. It’s a win-win situation. Help the environment and the big cats. If you need labels, then just contact us and we will get some too you.
Rescue Roast Coffee and Tea: Is now offering flavors and single serve coffee for your K-cup style brewers as well as Rescue Nuts and other products. We have the coffee, K-cups, and tea available at the sanctuary and the flea market, but you can also go to their website for your selections. This is a fair trade, organic product and available in regular roast and decaf. When you order online please don’t forget to select Yogie and Friends as your charity. We receive $3 from the sale of each bag. http://www.raisemoneyforpets.com/yoandfrexcat.html
Kroger Community Rewards Program: The new Kroger Community Rewards Program is now active. If you haven’t registered your Kroger Plus Card online yet, then you can do so at anytime. Once your card is registered you can go to the Community Rewards Program page, select Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice and then link your Kroger Plus Card to the Rewards program. Every time an enrolled participant shops at Kroger using his or her Kroger Plus card, Yogie and Friends will begin accumulating rewards. In addition, once a household member enrolls his or her card, all linked Kroger Plus cards within that household will begin earning funds for Yogie and Friends. That is if you have selected us as your charity of choice and we sure hope you have. Please make sure you register your Kroger Plus Card on line and then link Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. This only applies to Texas and Louisiana shoppers for us. Thank you in advance. Our charity NPO number is: 80724
Coins for Cats: Do you throw your loose change in a jar, or ashtray, or anyplace for that matter at the end of your day? Would you consider doing this as a way to help the big cats at Yogie and Friends? Your change may not seem like much, but it really adds up. Kids are always asking us how they can help the cats. This is a great way. How many times do you find coins on the ground? Throw them in a jar. See how fast this all adds up. It’s a great activity to get the whole family involved in. We hope you will think of the cats and do the Coins for Cats.
Upcoming Events:
Saturday/Sunday 10am – 4pm Greenwood Flea Market Booth #74
Through February
29 March 2014 11am-4pm Spring Bake Sale and Fundraiser
(NEW DATE) Petco, 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA
5 April 2014 Noon – 5pm Yogie Season Opening (Weather Permitting)
14 June 2014 Noon – 5pm Military Appreciation Day
13 September 2014 11am-4pm Fall Bake Sale and Fundraiser
Petco, 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA
25 October 2014 Noon – 6pm Yogie Season Finale
PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.
For the cats!
Jenny
Posted in Monthly Newsletter
February 2014 Sanctuary Newsletter
Winter Greetings Fans!
We are sad to start out this month’s update on a sad note. Our beloved Bengal tiger, Delilah, had to be humanely euthanized on January 14th. She had cancer and we could not let her suffer. She was starting to experience pain and we knew it was time to let her go. One of the hardest things for us to do, but also one of the kindest things to do so that she would not be in any pain. She was a beautiful animal and we miss her a great deal. Her brother, Samson, is sad, but doing well. Rest in Peace sweet Delilah. 6 May 1996 – 14 January 2014.
Well, we have finally been experiencing a real winter down here this year. And as someone who hails from Boston I consider it a quite impressive display of winter weather. I just hope everyone is safe, warm, and using some common sense out there on the roads if you must travel. If you have outdoor animals, please make sure they have good shelter from the cold and wet conditions. Check their water often to make sure it isn’t frozen. It does them no good if they can’t get to it to drink. We have put some great feral cat shelter ideas on our Facebook page if you are caring for a colony and need some ideas. It is always best to bring your pets inside, but if you can’t, then please don’t leave them unsheltered.
Drainage Issues: All of the French drains are installed now in the cat pens to help us with the drainage problems we have been having. This weekend we are supposed to have truckloads of soil brought in to help us build up the soil eroded through four years of drought. Once the soil is in and grass starts to grow again it will help hold the soil in place. We are also looking at planting more greenery for the cats to enjoy. Our next project is carports for shade. They will hold up to the windy days so much better.
Yogie Booth at Greenwood Flea Market: Yogie and Friends has a booth at the Greenwood Flea Market in Greenwood, Louisiana. We are there every weekend from 10am-4pm. We have all our amazing t-shirts and ceramics there. We are looking at ending out time there this weekend. We don’t have the volunteer help we need to cover the Saturdays and Sundays and do our other fundraising events. We’ve had a nice time getting to know people and will miss the vendors in our corner of the flea market. They have been very good to us and we feel we gained a new family member. We are currently in booth #74 and if we can stay through February and maybe even March we will try, but it isn’t looking like we can. We will keep you updated.
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): The new campaign has kicked off and we hope if you are a Military member or Federal Employee you will donate to Yogie and Friends via CFC. This program is easy and another good way to give financial assistance to the big cats. We hope you will please consider Yogie and Friends when making your CFC contribution. Our CFC number is 42427.
Recycle Ink Cartridges and Cell Phones: Please consider helping us with our recycling program. This is something that kids can do as well and they are always looking for ways to help the animals and the environment. This is a great way to do it. Please don’t throw those old ink jet/laser jet cartridges in the trash. Give them to us. We recycle them and get cash for the cats. It adds up fast. The company we use also makes sure that they are recycled in an environmentally friendly way and that is important in so many ways. If you would like to participate in this program it is very easy. You can box up the cartridges, put a prepaid label on it that we will provide you, then drop it off at any UPS shipping facility or they can pick it up at your business if you have UPS pickup at your business. It’s a win-win situation. Help the environment and the big cats. If you need labels, then just contact us and we will get some too you.
Rescue Roast Coffee and Tea: Is now offering flavors and single serve coffee for your K-cup style brewers as well as Rescue Nuts and other products. We have the coffee, K-cups, and tea available at the sanctuary and the flea market, but you can also go to their website for your selections. This is a fair trade, organic product and available in regular roast and decaf. When you order online please don’t forget to select Yogie and Friends as your charity. We receive $3 from the sale of each bag. http://www.raisemoneyforpets.com/yoandfrexcat.html
Kroger Community Rewards Program: The new Kroger Community Rewards Program is now active. If you haven’t registered your Kroger Plus Card online yet, then you can do so at anytime. Once your card is registered you can go to the Community Rewards Program page, select Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice and then link your Kroger Plus Card to the Rewards program. Every time an enrolled participant shops at Kroger using his or her Kroger Plus card, Yogie and Friends will begin accumulating rewards. In addition, once a household member enrolls his or her card, all linked Kroger Plus cards within that household will begin earning funds for Yogie and Friends. That is if you have selected us as your charity of choice and we sure hope you have. Please make sure you register your Kroger Plus Card on line and then link Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. This only applies to Texas and Louisiana shoppers for us. Thank you in advance. Our charity NPO number is: 80724
Coins for Cats: Do you throw your loose change in a jar, or ashtray, or anyplace for that matter at the end of your day? Would you consider doing this as a way to help the big cats at Yogie and Friends? Your change may not seem like much, but it really adds up. Kids are always asking us how they can help the cats. This is a great way. How many times do you find coins on the ground? Throw them in a jar. See how fast this all adds up. It’s a great activity to get the whole family involved in. We hope you will think of the cats and do the Coins for Cats.
Upcoming Events:
Saturday/Sunday 10am – 4pm Greenwood Flea Market Booth #74
Through February
15 March 2014 11am-4pm Spring Bake Sale and Fundraiser
Petco, 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA
5 April 2014 Noon – 5pm Yogie Season Opening (Weather Permitting)
14 June 2014 Noon – 5pm Military Appreciation Day
13 September 2014 11am-4pm Fall Bake Sale and Fundraiser
Petco, 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA
25 October 2014 Noon – 6pm Yogie Season Finale
PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.
For the cats!
Jenny
Posted in Monthly Newsletter