Happy Holidays Hopalong Style!

Howdy fosters and volunteers!

This is it, the last weekly email before Christmas, which will hopefully be a relaxing time for you!

First, please note that the office will be closed December 22-29 (ie all of next week, Sunday-Sunday). Fosters, Sam and Erica will be checking in with you about what to do if you need them while the office is closed. Volunteers: if you have shifts at the office, we will NOT be here. If you have shifts elsewhere (PetCo or PetSmart), please call the pet store ahead of time to see if there are kittens at the store before heading over. We’ll be back on Monday, the 30^th and Tuesday the 31^st and closed again on the 1^st. Please let me know if you have any questions before I turn into a pumpkin (read: Friday!)

Second, we have had a pretty rad December. Santa Paws has been great. Lots of cool visitors and photos- impromptu kid pictures, some crazy shenanigans in Pinole, and just general merriment. Thank you to all the volunteers and in advance to those taking on the mayhem this Saturday and Sunday! Many animals have also been adopted this month, which is unusual for December- and WONDERFUL! Over 30 kittens have already been adopted this month, and it’s only the 18^th! Ramona (the dog) was adopted in Idaho, Peter decided his foster home was actually his forever home, and 3 chihuahua/pug mixes (chugs?!) found homes on Monday.

Mostly, thank you so much for being part of the Hopalong Team: have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year! It’s really a pleasure to work with all of you, and if the animals could talk, I know they would say the same thing.

Best,

Office Projects week of December 16th

Howdy Partners,

We've got a couple office projects that we could really use some help on this week. These are all weekday, office projects.

• Filing/moving project: our animal files overfloweth! We need to move them around in drawers and possibly to a different set of drawers. This needs some concentration but not a ton- it's not a super complicated job but needs to be done right this time. There *may be some lifting involved. 3-4 hours, can be done in a couple chunks.
• Shelving supplies: We got tons and tons of supplies from Pet Food Express and they are sitting on the floor. Parts requires some physical strength. 3-4 hours, anything you can do helps!
• Testing the electronics in the back: We've got lots of possibly-working electronic devices in the back room- printers, computer towers, scanners- I don't even know what! If you've got any tech skills and can evaluate these things, we'd love to know what we've got and what we can get rid of! 

Thanks, guys- any time next week would be WONDERFUL- just let me know when you're coming in!

It's Still Wednesday- Hopalong Style

Hi All,

Hope everyone is staying warm, including your pets! Admit it, you know you’re turning up the heat and pulling out the pet sweaters- we know we are!

Thank you everyone for your help at past and future Santa Paws events! These are great fun for everyone involved- the one on the 7^th was a great success- *five* dogs were adopted at Bay Street (thanks Jill for spearheading this!) and countless pets and kids (!) sat on Santa’s lap for a donation.

We’ve also had great success with cat adoptions this week- our buddy Rasputin went home and kittens are flying out of here. This is unusual and wonderful for December! This week we also participated in a rescue mission sending tons and tons of little dogs to Idaho- check out the video here.

Couple fundraising opportunities to share: we’ve got some very cool photo cards that are perfect for office fundraising/tree decorating. If your office is into donating, holler at us and we’ll share details. We’ve also got our Amazon wishlist for those who prefer giving to pets in need- personally, I think donating is an awesome way to give. Another cool thing to do is foster- dogs or cats don’t understand holidays, but we know they love warm beds!

Volunteer ops: I don’t have a lot of things to share right now- it’s always a little slow in December. We’ve got quite a few marketing research projects if you’re into that- they can be done at home- and we’re looking for a marketing intern for winter/spring semester, preferably a college student. If you know anyone who might be interested, info here. Share widely- this is a great opportunity for someone who wants to learn nonprofits and practice their skills!

Thanks, everyone- your contributions are greatly appreciated!!

Lauren

Marketing Internship!

Hopalong is looking for an intern for the winter semester- we'd love to get a student on board to help market our programs! Please share this listing far and wide!

Do you love animals? Have a knack for getting others to love what you love? Do you like to research? Share your skills with Hopalong Animal Rescue and learn what marketing looks like in the nonprofit world! Hopalong is an Oakland-based nonprofit looking to expand our reach and save more dogs and cats. With better messaging, we can reach more people about our work and add to our network of fosters, volunteers and adopters. Help us do that!

Hopalong Animal Rescue has a fast paced work environment and every day is different. We are looking for an intern who wants to use the skills s/he is learning in school in the real world while gaining experience in a nonprofit setting. As an intern, you will get to work directly with our Executive Director and put your hands on real projects that will help our organization grow.

Our ideal candidate is someone who is self-directed and creative, familiar with computers, comfortable talking to new people and not allergic to animals- our office is full of them!

Sample Tasks:

• Creation of and management of an outreach calendar
• Design and creation marketing materials such as posters and fliers
• Research projects
• Locating, contacting and building partnerships with other organizations
• Managing, archiving and organizing photos for marketing campaigns
• Assisting in video production

What We Require:

• Background or strong interest in Marketing, Communication, or other related discipline.
• Strong communication skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office.
• Organized, with an ability to prioritize time-sensitive assignments.
• Creative and Flexible.
• Familiarity with social networking, especially Facebook and Twitter.
• Interested in animal welfare issues
• Interest in nonprofit management and community development.

We value all of our interns and go the extra mile to make sure you receive a learning experience that fits your career goals. You will learn how to work in a professional nonprofit environment and have ample opportunity to network with department leaders. Students encouraged to apply.

Details:

The position begins in January and ends in May. You are expected to work 15 hours a week.

To Apply:

Send resume and cover letter to Lauren by December 20th.

Happy Wednesday

Hi Fosters and Volunteers,

Almost last call for the Volunteer and Foster Appreciation Party TOMORROW (Thursday, December 5^th) at the office at 5:30-7:30. RSVP here. All of the staff want to thank you in person for your contributions- big or small (they’re big to us!)- delicious food and drink will be provided, and if you must bring something for dessert. If you don’t RSVP, you’re invited anyway! Kids, partners in crime invited- two-legged only, please- we need to save the food for the humans!

Your hard work is really appreciated- animals are flying out of here (and in here!) almost faster than we can keep track of. I mean, I know that some people are keeping track, but I have lost count of kittens getting adopted, puppies coming in puppies going out, etc- it’s a wonderful feeling! And *you make that possible- thank you! (Who can resist adorable Chihuahua puppies- in clothes!)

Event-wise: The Santa Paws events that we’ve had so far this year have been wonderful- this is a great way for people to support Hopalong in the community- pictures with Santa? So fun! Thank you who have helped out and who have signed up to help out- this is a Merry Time for all! We have two upcoming mobiles this month, and thank you for signing up for those, too. If you haven’t received instructions, don’t worry- they’re coming! Humane education is chugging along- we’re starting a partnership next week with King Middle School in Berkeley and look forward to more schools!

Anyway, all of us here (Karen, Sam, Erica, Juliet, Trisha and I) are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night and thanking you in person. If you can’t make it, we’ll toast you from afar! THANK YOU!!!