Tuesday Update from Hopalong

Hi All,

I'm so sorry I missed last Wednesday- I don't know if you missed me, but I did miss you! I was out last week teaching at the East Oakland Youth Development Center with some volunteers and Rollie (my dog). It was a really wonderful experience and we are working on forming an ongoing partnership with the center and the youth there. The students had all kinds of questions and insights into the animals in their community and are going to be wonderful ambassadors for humane treatment of other people, animals and the environment. (Sorry, no pictures, we were all too engaged! Hopefully next time!)

I've just posted a link with LOTS of opportunities for helping out all over the place and all the time. Some of them are quite time sensitive, so do take a look at these if you have a moment. 

A quick thank you to Rob who has been jumping in with "yes" pretty much whenever we ask if he's free to drive and Whitney who raised her hands to foster sweet kitties Zoli and Oola.

Apologies for the picture-free email- I'm at home today and am not smart enough to insert images into the home email set-up. Next time!

Best,

Weekly Update: It's Cat Time!

Hi Volunteers and Fosters!

I’m back from the polar vortex- hope everyone is enjoying the sun! Thanks all of you for your update on foster preferences and interest last week- it’s not too late to let me know if/what you’re interested in fostering (it never is!).

This week I’ve got a special ALL CAT email, but that doesn’t mean you dog people can/should tune out- lots of stuff to share around, and hey, cats have four legs, too!

First, our two beautiful buff girls, Zoli & Ooli are looking for a foster home. These two sweeties are a pair of six year-old kitties that came back to Hopalong after their family lost their home. They’ve spent time in a couple of our adoption sites and have hung around the office charming the staff and volunteers to no end. They’re still looking for their furr-ever home, but in the meantime, they’d love, love, LOVE to find a foster home who will spoil them rotten for a month or so. If you’re looking for an awesome pair of companions to temporarily brighten up your life, please email or call Trisha and let her know if you’re interested. Zoli and Oola would prefer to be the only kitties in your home, but if you have cats and can keep the girls in a separate area, that would work.  These ladies aren’t big dog lovers. The girls would be great first time cat fosters- they’re tidy and self-entertain (and they entertain people, too).

Second, one of our long term kitties, Bootsy, was adopted last week. This volunteer favorite has found the furrever home we knew was waiting for him!

Finally, we’re partnering with Berkeley Animal Care Services again in a Foster Orientation for potential adult cat fosters- we did this last spring with kittens- and would love to have a great turnout. We love working with BACS on moving adoptable kitties into foster homes and eventually permanent homes. If you can make it or know someone who might be interested, the orientation is Saturday, January 25^th at 10:30 am at BACS, 1 Bolivar Dr, Berkeley. Register and more information here.

Thanks again, everyone, 

Weekly Update: Happy New Year!

Hi Fosters and Volunteers!

I hope you had a safe and happy holiday!

As 2013 wrapped up and 2014 starts, we’re doing the usual stuff- reflecting, planning, launching, brainstorming, you get the picture! We really had a fabulous year of saving animals: a record 106 kittens were adopted out of our site at Woodlands in Marin. This was part of over 220 dogs and 450 cats adopted to forever families in 2013- great work, everyone! Approximately fifty families took homeless dogs into their homes and sixty families fostered cats/kittens! About 200 people volunteered (some of you volunteered AND fostered) and our humane education program reached about 85 kids. I don’t know about you, but I’m SUPER proud of this!

At this point in the year, I’d like to check in with you on your status, especially about fostering: are you still interested in fostering? Interested in fostering for the first time? Even if you think we know you, please go ahead and send me a short email just reminding us, and include things like how often you like to foster, what you like to foster, etc! Don’t be shy- these details help. We’re especially looking for fosters who might be willing to take large breed adult dogs, puppies, dogs who can only handle adult only or single animal foster families, fosters who will take whatever, fosters with some training experience, fosters who are willing to take on longer fosters (cats and dogs!) and, well- if that doesn’t cover it, I don’t know what does! So when you send me that email, if you have any of these special skills or situations, also include that- the information really helps us in our ability to rescue! (And don’t be offended if I don’t write back right away- I’m out of town until Tuesday, but I will get back to you!!)

I don’t have a ton of volunteer updates to share right now but there are a few here on the blog, and as always, if there are specific things you’re interested in, contact me- we’ve got plenty of things going (and coming up!).

Another cool thing to think about for the New Year is checking in to see if your employer offers “volunteer grants.” As part of many corporate responsibility programs, companies will match volunteer hours with financial donations. This is a great reason to track your hours! (Fosters- we’ll calculate your hours for you.) Volunteers, you can track your hours here, and if you need a new log in, just let me know. Also, if you didn’t track your hours last year, don’t worry, I’ve been doing it for you (mostly). Thanks to Clarissa and Carla, we’ve generated a list of a lot of companies that do this- check to see if yours is on there! If it’s not, you might still ask your office to see if they participate in a program like this.

Thanks guys, and I’ll be back next week with more and better

Volunteer Matching Grants!

If you haven't been tracking your hours, now is a great time to start! (Fosters, keep track of your days- we'll count your hours for you.) Volunteers, login here, and if you need a new log-in, just let me know.

Here's one good reason to keep track of your hours: Many companies will match your volunteer hours with financial donations. Thanks to volunteers Clarissa and Carla, we've assembled a list of many of these companies and the websites with instructions. If your employer isn't listed here, it's still worth a shot- ask them about their corporate responsibility programs or volunteer grants.

The List (PDF)

New Year, New Opportunities!

Happy 2014, Fosters and Volunteers!

I've got some new-ish opportunities to share- shoot me an email or phone call if any of these interest you!

• Cat Cuddling: We have a new site, PetCo in Alameda and we have spots available for cuddling 7 days a week, anytime. We also have some spots at PetSmart, Pinole, and some shifts at the office, M-F, 9-5. 
• Thank-a-thon: I've mentioned this before, but we're going to start calling donors regularly, once a month, whether they donate $5 or $5000(!). This will happen at the office on an evening, night TBD. You can come once or make it a regular thing. Script and dinner to be provided! Although this is, in effect, making cold calls, it's the reverse- we're not asking for anything! And there will be lots of leaving messages.
• 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! M-F, 9-5, at the office.
• Organizing supplies: We've got lots of things! If you like to organize, we have lots and lots of stuff that needs sorting. We'll give you the basic overview, you do the sorting! M-F, 9-5, at the office!

Also, check out the catwalk that volunteer Edit built for her cats (including the Hopalong cat formerly known as Catlyn)- the cats get to sunbathe and look at the view from their new perch, high in the sky!