December 2007 Sanctuary News
Hi!
December is here, although it doesn’t really feel like it, and with that comes a very busy time for most of us. December 15th will be our last day to be open to the public for the season. We open again the first Saturday in April 2008. The reason we close in the winter is because it is typically our rainy season here in Louisiana and we have a natural landscape without paved walkways. We don’t want our visitors walking in puddles. We hope that you have an opportunity to visit us before the season ends.
The winter months are very difficult on us financially because we do close during this time. We have to come up with other ways to bring in revenue for the animals and you are the most important part of this all. We hope you won’t forget us during the lean winter months and continue to send your tax-deductible donation to help the animals. Remember, it is all about the animals. Yogie and Friends is a 100% driven organization and none of us receive any compensation for what we do. We love these animals and want only the best for them. We want to make it a better life for them. They certainly deserve it.
Boo Boo has a birthday on December 4th. She was born in 1999.
With all the different holidays upon us we hope that you will remember the Yogie animals during your gift buying. There are so many ways you can help our animals and you may not even realize it. For instance, if you shop on-line, and many of us do to avoid the crowds and traffic, you can help in different ways. You can go to www.giveline.com or www.goodshop.com, or www.igive.com and select Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. Any one of these organizations will donate a percentage of your purchase to our cause and it is very simple to do. Heck, you don’t even have to leave your house to help the animals, but we hope you do come and visit. So, please remember us during all your holiday and gift giving times.
If you are a big magazine subscriber, then your subscriptions or renewals can help us when you do so at www.magfundraising.com and purchase or renew your magazines there. You will receive a big discount at the same time helping the big cats at Yogie and Friends. They give us a large percentage. What a great gift giving idea and a fun and easy way to help.
Doing the happy holiday eating thing? Well, you can really do some amazing fundraising for the cats. Do you shop at Kroger’s? Well we have a Kroger share card that is good in Louisiana and Texas. All you have to do is have the cashier scan the share card every time you buy something there and they will donate 1% of what your grocery bill is to Yogie and Friends. It doesn’t cost you a thing. This is Kroger’s way of contributing to our cause. You can send us a self-addressed stamped envelope and a note on the outside of the envelope saying: Kroger Share Card and how many next to it and we’ll send them right to you or you can just print out a copy of the card from this website and it will scan. With Christmas, New Years, Super Bowl Parties, and just plain old everyday grocery shopping you are doing more with this card than you realize. It really adds up.
We really could use some carpentry help with our education building. We just need two outside doors installed, a bathroom and office door installed, and the overhead lights and ceiling fan installed and the building will be up and ready to go. You have no idea how much this little bit can contribute to Yogie in ways of financial help. The building can be used for birthday parties, a small gift shop, and other revenue producing events that benefit the Yogie and Friends animals. Please pass this info along to anyone you think has the time, the skills, and the volunteer heart to help us with finishing this project.
Volunteers of the Month: Our volunteers of the month are Damon and Paige Bass for their amazing work with putting together the Orange and Black Friday. This was all their idea and doing and it was really a cool event. A very special thank you to those bands who gave so freely of their time to make this possible. We so appreciate you all in this.
We are planning on having a volunteer recruitment after the holidays. There are several volunteer needs and we want to get the community more involved. Keep watching the website for updates and information regarding this.
Yes, we are going to have our ever popular bake sale. We hold these every six months at Courtyard Coffee in Shreveport and we will put this on the schedule again for March 2008. We may be adding a twist to this next one. We hope to have a silent auction with this one. More to come.
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.
Old Cell Phones? Don’t know what to do with those old phones. Can’t toss them out… They’re not biodegradable. Give them up… and help. For more information about recycling your old cell phones, printer ink cartridges and how to support Yogie and Friends Contact Jane Greenwood at 603-516-3706 or email Jgreenwood@recyclefirst.com
Do you Google? Well, then why not go to www.goodsearch.com instead and do your searches there? Goodsearch is a search engine, but they donate to charity. When you go to Goodsearch and select Yogie and Friends as your charity they will donate a certain amount of money for every search you do on their search engine. It may seem small at first, but it all adds up to dollars and cents for the animals. Give them a try.
You can also donate at www.networkforgood.org or www.justgive.org to help the cats.
Please remember to spay and neuter your pets. Also make sure you provide all your animals, inside and outside, fresh, clean, and cool water. Provide good shade shelter for those animals outside. NEVER leave your animals outside in the hot car. The temperatures get dangerously high and they will die in a closed vehicle.
Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Jenny Senier, Executive Director, and the Yogie Cats!
Posted in Monthly Newsletter and tagged 2007 December News, Latest News, Yogie and Friends News
November 2007 Sanctuary News
Hi!
Well, November is finally upon us and we’re still wearing shorts. Where is the fall? I am sure we will be wishing for warmer weather again once the cooler weather gets here.
Our 2007 season is rapidly coming to an end. We will be closing for the winter on 15 Dec 2007 and will open back up on the first Saturday in April, which is April 5th, weather permitting of course. So, come out and visit us soon. The cats sure would appreciate a visit from you.
I am sure you have noticed the new look of our website. All of us here at Yogie and Friends would like to say a very special thank you to Don Sherret for his many patient and dedicated years being the Yogie and Friends webmaster. We realize how much work goes into such a venture and we truly want him to know how much we love and appreciate all the hard work and demands we have made of him throughout these years. We truly have made a lifetime friend of him and we really are grateful for all the hard work he has done for us. He is a forever friend and cannot thank him enough.
We also want to introduce our new webmaster, Paige Bass. We appreciate her coming on board as our newest Yogie and Friends member and being a part of our team. Welcome aboard!
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) #42427 – Yogie and Friends is now a participant in CFC. This is a big deal. CFC is a Federal employee contribution program. It is very cool that Yogie and Friends is a part of this. Federal employees include those in our military, postal workers, Veteran’s Administrative Hospital employees, just to name a few. It used to be you could only contribute to a local campaign. Now our military friends in other states can contribute to Yogie and Friends if they so choose. That is a nice change since many of our Yogie volunteers are military members and some have moved to different bases. If you want to contribute to Yogie and Friends through CFC select us as your charity. Choose CFC # 42427
Upcoming Events:
10 Nov 07, 6 A.M. – 10 A.M.: Belk $1000 Gift Card Chance. Belk Department Store is doing another Charity Day but with a bigger twist. There is the chance to win a $1000 gift card. Yes, $1000 gift card. Tickets are available now for a donation of $5 and all the money from tickets sold by Yogie and Friends’ volunteers will go directly to the care of the animals. 100%! The event will be held on Saturday, November 10, 2007, from 6 A.M. – 10 A.M. at all participating Belk stores. There’s even more to this event. The ticket, or tickets, you get from us will entitle you to enjoy 20-50% off throughout the store, including special savings on rarely discounted merchandise. Plus, receive $5 off your first purchase. And there is even more to this. You can go in the store anytime between now and November 10th and select items that are not even on sale yet, but will be that day, and they will hold these items in a layaway type program for you to receive that sale price on the 10th. Store employees can help you more with this. How cool is that? A chance for big savings and a chance to win a $1000 Belk gift card. There will be four (4) winners drawn for one of the $1000 Belk Gift Cards. If you are interested in purchasing tickets, please call Jenny at 318-286-1145
23 Nov 07, 2 P.M. – Midnight: Orange and Black Friday. Do you ever want to take a break from the crazy shopping of Black Friday? Well, this is the event for you to come and just de-stress from all that shopping frenzy. WickedTickle.com is sponsoring a benefit show for the cats called Orange and Black Friday. This is going to be a really fun way to relax after a crazy after Thanksgiving shopping spree. The event will be held at Shreveport’s new 18-and-older, Harlequin Alley, 516 Texas St. downtown Shreveport. Featured performers are: Rockhouse, Bonedance, Betty Lewis and the Executives, just to name a few. Check out the rest by clinking on the Orange and Black Friday icon. Very, very, cool event. Admission is just $7 or $5 with donation of an old cell phone or empty print cartridge for recycling
Turkeys, Pumpkins, and the Big Cats – Bring a whole, uncarved, medium to large pumpkin or an unseasoned whole turkey for the cats during the month of November and get one dollar off admission to Yogie and Friends. The cats don’t eat the pumpkins, but they will play with them and the different smell and texture provide them a unique enrichment. It makes a big mess, but it is so fun to watch them play with the pumpkins. Also, the cats like a different treat of the turkeys so we do this each year around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Obviously it can’t be a Butterball or any seasoned turkey because it isn’t good for the cats. And yes, we take extreme caution to ensure that all the inside items and thermometers are removed from the turkeys to ensure our animal’s safety.
Yogie and Friends will celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of Morticia, Natasha, and Gomez, on 25 Nov. They arrived at Yogie and Friends on 25 November 2000 at the age of 5 months. They are littermate Siberian tigers and were being used as photo cats when we rescued them. They outgrew their “usefulness” for a big cat exploiter. They were no longer cute and cuddly and could not be used for public photos. Don’t ask where we prevented them from going. It is far too disgusting. But, they are happy, healthy and thriving at Yogie and Friends.
We really could use some carpentry help with our education building. We just need two outside doors installed, a bathroom and office door installed, and the overhead lights and ceiling fan installed and the building will be up and ready to go. You have no idea how much this little bit can contribute to Yogie in ways of financial help. The building can be used for birthday parties, a small gift shop, and other revenue producing events that benefit the Yogie and Friends animals. Please pass this info along to anyone you think has the time, the skills, and the volunteer heart to help us with finishing this project.
Volunteers of the Month: Our volunteers of the month are all of those who helped with our Rip Roaring Rummage sale. They are: Carol Farrar, Vicki and Brianna Volk, Mindy Manning, Pepper Lumina, Garth Owens, Anne and Eric Barkley, and Dace Stidham. Thanks so much for all your help.
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.
Old Cell Phones? Don’t know what to do with those old phones. Can’t toss them out… They’re not biodegradable. Give them up… and help. For more information about recycling your old cell phones, printer ink cartridges and how to support Yogie and Friends Contact Jane Greenwood at 603-516-3706 or email Jgreenwood@recyclefirst.com
Do you Google? Well, then why not go to www.goodsearch.com instead and do your searches there? Goodsearch is a search engine, but they donate to charity. When you go to Goodsearch and select Yogie and Friends as your charity they will donate a certain amount of money for every search you do on their search engine. It may seem small at first, but it all adds up to dollars and cents for the animals. Give them a try.
The holidays will soon be upon up and If you are a big magazine subscriber, then your subscriptions or renewals can help us when you do so at www.magfundraising.com and purchase or renew your magazines there. You will receive a big discount at the same time helping the big cats at Yogie and Friends. They give us a large percentage. What a great gift giving idea and a fun and easy way to help the big cats.
Also, when you shop online you can go to www.igive.com and sign up for Yogie to be your charity of choice and every time you visit one of the igive affiliates they will donate a percentage to Yogie and Friends. You can also donate at www.networkforgood.org to help the cats.
Do you shop at Kroger’s? Well we have a Kroger share card and they will donate 1% of what your grocery bill is to Yogie and Friends if you have them scan our share card. This is good in Louisiana and Texas. Send us a self-addressed stamped envelope and a note on the outside of the envelope saying: Kroger Share Card and how many next to it and we’ll send them right to you. Give them to your other Kroger shoppers.
Please remember to spay and neuter your pets. Also make sure you provide all your animals, inside and outside, fresh, clean, and cool water. Provide good shade shelter for those animals outside. NEVER leave your animals outside in the hot car. The temperatures get dangerously high and they will die in a closed vehicle.
Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Jenny Senier, Executive Director, and the Yogie Cats!
Posted in Monthly Newsletter and tagged 2007 November News, Latest News, news, Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary
Orange and Black Friday – a benefit show for Yogie and Friends
WickedTickle.com presents
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Wicked Tickle – the Entertainment Guide for Shreveport Bossier and the ArkLaTex has organized and sponsored the Orange and Black Friday benefit in an effort to bring Shreveport – Bossier musicians together to celebrate and support a wonderful cause: Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary.
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Posted in Special Announcements and tagged Latest News, Orange and Black Friday - a benefit show for Yogie and Friends, Yogie and Friends News