Voice
for Animals
Waterville-Winslow
Area Chapter
Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2002, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00
p.m., at Winslow Public Library
Volunteers
Present: Dot Bickford
Mahlon
Bickford
Sheila
Branham
Meredith
Davis
Linda
Hale
Cathy
O’Connor
Diane
Stimpson
Barb
Townsend
Linda
Voss
Karen
Walker
Next Meeting: October 12, 2002, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00
p.m., at Winslow Public Library
Regular meetings will be held the second Saturday of every
month from 10:00am to 12:00pm at Winslow Public Library.
Minutes of the monthly meetings will be published on the Waterville-Winslow
chapter page of the Voice for Animals website (www.voiceforanimals.net).
Voice for Animals
has a permanent phone number of 877-9944 to take messages. This number will be used for any advertising
in newspapers, posters, brochures, etc.
Currently, five volunteers are scheduled to monitor the messages one
week at a time. We feel this new system will be beneficial in
that messages can be checked from any location, protects the privacy of our
volunteers, less disruptions at home for those volunteers who do screening,
messages can be saved and given to another volunteer for follow-up, and
provides flexibility for the volunteer to return phone calls.
There are many
wonderful animals available for adoption on our web site (www.voiceforanimals.net/adopt)
Green Library Project. Please help the Winslow Public Library earn
money and recycle at the same time!
Bring your inkjet cartridges or laser toner cartridges to the library
and drop them in the donation box located near the copy machine. The library will receive money for each cartridge
which is recycled.
Due to a depleted
bank account, we cannot rescue any animals until after our next
fundraiser. Unfortunately, there are
many needy animals out there that need our help.
We rescued 19 cats and 1 dog since the August 2002
meeting.
6 cats were adopted in the same time period.
We counseled many callers, including:
·
Woman who had bats in her house. Erle (the batman) Townsend was very helpful.
·
Need to find a home/shelter for 10 semi-feral cats in
Augusta whose shelter is being torn down.
Funds have been donated to have them fixed if we rescue them and find a
new home.
·
The two cats in Augusta who needed a new home (due to
allergies in the family) were placed with an elderly couple in Waterville. We assisted with screening.
·
Call about a sick ferret
·
Persian in Augusta who is declawed, fixed and up-to-date
with shots needs a new home
·
Stray kitten on Cushman Road in Winslow was referred to us
but disappeared before we could trap.
·
Numerous 3rd party referrals.
·
Still need a home for two 10 year old cats who are sisters. They are gray and white tigers.
·
Still need a home for 4 cats, as the owner has failing
health and cannot care for them any longer.
One cat is 10 years old. The
other three are between 7-10 years old.
·
Still need a foster home for a mother cat with 4 kittens
who are living outside on the corner of Clinton/Benton Avenues in Winslow.
|
Date |
Time |
Event |
Coordinator |
|
Sept 28 |
9:00 - 12:00 |
Walk-a-Thon |
JoJean Frappier |
|
Oct 5 |
11:00 – 3:00 |
Salvation Army Harvest Fair |
Cathy O’Connor |
|
Oct 19 |
8:00 – 4:00 |
Colby Craft Fair |
Diane Stimpson |
|
Dec 21 |
|
Cookie Swap |
Linda Hale |
|
Date |
Event |
Coordinator |
|
Feb |
Chocolate Festival in Fairfield |
|
|
March |
Getting to Know You Fair in Skowhegan |
|
|
|
Doggie Paddle
(canoe/kayak) |
|
|
July |
Hospice Hullaballoo |
|
Walk-a-Thon
The Walk-a-thon will be held Saturday, September 28, RAIN
or SHINE. Route is three miles long from
Elm Plaza to Castonguay Square and back.
It is extremely important that all volunteers help with
walker recruitment. Invite your friends
and family to walk with you or FOR you!
There were 30 walkers last year; we’d like to double that number this
year.
Dot Bickford, Karen Walker, and Barb Townsend will be
present at the turnaround point in Castonguay Square. They will provide educational materials and
brochures to anyone interested. Also,
beverages for walkers and dogs will be available.
Animal communicator Teri Scherer has agreed to perform dog
wellness scans again this year. She
will be in Castonguay Square.
Linda Voss will lead the walk.
Dogs are encouraged to participate, as long as they are on
a leash. Owners are responsible for any
waste cleanup. We will furnish plastic
bags, if needed.
Barb Townsend has obtained the parade permit and submitted
publicity items to the Morning Sentinel and The Town Line.
Posters have been designed and printed. Joyce Stewart, Karen Walker, Barb Townsend,
Cathy O’Connor, Linda Voss, Linda Hale, Brenda Bates and Mahlon Bickford have
all helped distribute the posters.
Pledge sheets are available at Animal House in Fairfield
and Agway in Winslow or by calling 877-9944.
JoJean Frappier will coordinate donations of
water/coffee/ice.
Jackie Frappier, Cathy O’Connor, Linda Hale, Diane
Stimpson and JoJean Frappier will man the registration tables at Elm Plaza. All walkers will receive a free VFA tee
shirt and beverages.
Homemade dog bones will be available to all dogs who
participate.
We plan to raffle off prizes, based on pledge
amounts. For every $10 of pledge
donations, a walker will receive one raffle ticket. If the walker has $100 in pledge donations, he/she will receive
10 raffle tickets.
We have asked many businesses for prize donations. The prizes include 100 gallons of heating
oil donated by Webber Energy, Chinet paper plates donated by a friend, movie
tickets donated by Hoyts Cinema in Augusta, movie rentals donated by Movie
Gallery in Winslow and Waterville, and gift certificates donated by Sign of the
Sign, Pizza Hut, Applebees, Governors, New Balance, Brooks Pharmacy, and
Margaritas Mexican Restaurant in Augusta.
We will also give away a few of our cat feather toys. Diane is still working on a couple more gift
certificates from businesses.
Anyone who raises money through pledges (they don’t have
to walk) will be eligible for the prize raffle. Anyone who makes a personal donation ONLY will not be eligible. We wish to reward those individuals who go
that extra mile to raise money for us.
Cathy O’Connor has written to Thomas College and Unity
College.
Barb Townsend and Linda Hale are still working to approach
Colby College.
Pledge sheets and an informational letter about the
walk-a-thon were mailed to volunteers who walked last year and other interested
volunteers.
Colby Craft Fair
We plan to vastly expand our efforts at the Colby Craft
Fair this year. Last year we held a
bake sale (which sold out) and distributed educational materials. The activities planned this year are: a bake
sale, coffee and muffins early in the morning, sandwiches and soup/chowder
around noon, baked beans (cooked), Green Mountain coffee, soda and water,
homemade dog biscuits, animal jewelry, cat pins, cat feather toys, and various
crafts.
Jackie Frappier is making catnip snakes.
Phyllis Scribner is making pet Christmas stockings.
We have two beautiful crocheted afghans which were donated
by Mary Cool to sell.
Erle Townsend is making bird houses.
Barb will submit a short brief to the Morning Sentinel and
Town Line to advise our many supporters that we will be present at the Colby
Craft Fair.
We will need coolers that day. Diane Stimpson and Barb Townsend each have 2.
We need crock pots.
Cathy, Linda Hale, and Diane will bake beans to be sold.
JoJean is coordinating donations of coffee,
soda/water/juice and ice.
Diane will contact bakeries and caterers for muffin and
sandwich donations.
Cathy and Jeff will make a vegetable soup. Diane Stimpson will make corn chowder.
Cathy has volunteered to be the Crafts coordinator.
Linda Hale is the Bake Sale coordinator.
Diane will create a Thank You board for all of the various
businesses who made donations to this event.
Barb will create a board displaying the animals available
for adoption.
Karen Walker and Sheila Branham will be available to help
that day. We could use more volunteers
that day.
Petco Adoption day
Cathy O’Connor and Diane Stimpson took 5 cats in foster
care to Petco in Augusta on August 24th, in hopes of finding good
homes for them. They were joined by
Moxie and Opal who also seek a new home.
Unfortunately, no one was adopted that day. This was a spur of the moment event, perhaps
it would be more successful with advertising.
Also, most of the cats were in carriers which made it hard for people to
see them.
Pet Food drive at K-mart
Dot Bickford and Karen Walker held a pet food drive at
K-Mart on September 8th.
They received $20, 3 bags of dry cat food and 1 case of soft cat food
for their efforts.
Salvation Army Harvest Fair
We still plan to have a flea market table at the Salvation
Army Harvest Fair which is being held at the Congregational Church on Eustis
Parkway in Waterville on October 5 from 11:00am to 3:00pm. Cathy O’Connor and Karen Walker will
participate. We will attempt to sell
many of the items which were left over from the Lawn Sale, including a
microwave and two bread machines.
Donation Cans
Mahlon Bickford will place donation cans in the Clinton area. Diane Stimpson will get the cans to
him.
Agway
Sheila Branham will care/feed the cats at Agway on Sunday.
We will still continue to search for a Sunday volunteer, as Sheila now has two
days.
Orphan of the Week
Barb Townsend will assume responsibility to send
text/picture of a suitable “Orphan of the Week” to The Town Line every
week. We hope to expand this feature to
other weekly papers, once we establish contacts.
Volunteer listing
A listing of active volunteers will be distributed at each
meeting. If a volunteer does not want
this information publicized, we will omit their name.
Adoption Day at Pet Quarters
We hope to hold another adoption day at Pet Quarters in
Augusta sometime this fall/early winter.
Cookie swap in December
Brief discussion was held regarding a potential fundraiser
on December 21st, possibly to be held at Pet Quarters in
Augusta. More discussion at the next
meeting.
Lost and Found Pets
Cathy Bolduc has volunteered to track the Lost and Found
pets listed in the Morning Sentinel each day.
We will check these listings when we rescue a stray animal. Cathy can be reached at 861-8346.
Silent Auction
A Silent Auction will be held again this year in
November. Generally, all chapters of
Voice for Animals in Maine and New Hampshire participate. Each chapter solicits items from local
businesses which will be auctioned to the highest bidder. The auction will start early November and
end right before Thanksgiving. Each
chapter must submit their list of items for printing by the middle of October.
A catalog will be mailed to mailing lists from each
chapter. This year, item descriptions
and pictures will be available on the Internet.
We could use some help obtaining items for the Silent Auction.
Foster homes
ü
VFA will pay all medical bills and will provide food and
cat litter if asked
Volunteers needed to help find locations for our donation
cans in the Vassalboro area
Volunteers needed to walk in the Walk-a-Thon in
September!
Volunteers needed to monitor voice mail messages on our hotline
and screen for good homes
Volunteer needed to assemble informational material for
teenagers and how they can help VFA.
Volunteer needed to care for the cats at Agway on Sunday
Volunteers needed to solicit items for the Silent Auction
The next meeting will be held on October 12, 2002 from
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Winslow Public Library. Linda Hale and Mahlon Bickford will bring
the refreshments.
Any new or existing volunteers are welcome.
Please send any proposed agenda items to Diane Stimpson (dstimpson@adelphia.net)
VIII. 2002 meetings
February 23, 2002 Winslow Public Library
March 16, 2002 Winslow Public Library
April 13, 2002 Winslow
Public Library
May 11, 2002 Winslow
Public Library
June 8, 2002 Winslow
Public Library
July 13, 2002 home
of Pat Byther
August 10, 2002 home of Cathy O’Connor
September 14, 2002 Winslow Public Library
October 12, 2002 Winslow Public Library
November 9, 2002 Winslow Public Library
December 14, 2002 Winslow Public Library