CCHS Volunteer Newletter

November 2003

Hello Everyone! Its hard to believe the year is almost over, but November
has arrived, along with a whole slew of events. This will be another long
newsletter, so please stick with it to the end, and don't forget to grab
your pen and calendar!

The Humane Society's "A Fetching Ball" dinner and auction will be on Friday,
November 7th. There are still a few seats left, so if you still want to
attend come into the shelter to fill out the reservation card, or you can
reserve your seat by phone if you pay with a credit card. Don't forget that
the special guest emcees will be Doug Wilson and Hilda Santo-Tomas from
Trading Spaces!

Speaking if Doug and Hildi, there will be an autograph session at the
Hawthorne Suites on Friday the 7th from noon to 1:30 pm. Both Doug and
Hildi will be on hand to sign autographs, and pictures of the duo will be
available for $10. All proceeds from the pictures purchased will go to
benefit the animals in our care. Make plans now to take advantage of this
great opportunity!

The next event this month will be the Chris Cringle Craft Show on Friday the
14th and Saturday the 15th. We will be setting up on Thursday November 13th
from 5 pm to 9 pm, and we will need a few people to help get our booth set
up, stocked, and ready to go for Friday evening. If you can help us with
setting up please let me know by 5 pm on Monday November 10th.

I also still need people to help man our booth Friday evening and Saturday.
If you are interested in helping during the craft show itself, please let me
know what day and shift you can work by 5 pm on Monday November 10th as
well. The shifts will run as follows:

Don't put your pen down yet, Santa Paws will be November 21st thru 23rd at
Andrae's Harley-Davidson on Lincoln Ave in Urbana. I am looking for
volunteers to help with check in, check out, posing, 'squeaking' (squeaking
a dog toy to perk up those dogs and cats!), and guys to play Santa. We will
provide the Santa suit, but we will need some of you patient guys to play
the roll of the jolly old elf- with the dogs and cats. You won't be in
every picture, but be prepared to hold dogs, cats, and maybe even some
exotic pets (rabbits, guinea pigs, etc). We will need lots of help with
this event, so please let me know if you can help by 5 pm on Monday November
17th. The shifts will run as follows:

We can also use help from any of you that do photography and are willing to
help take pictures. A local photographer is letting us use his equipment
(with a digital camera) for the weekend, but he will be unavailable to take
the pictures. If you are willing to help us take the pictures please let me
know by Monday November 17th at 5 pm.

If you want to reserve a sitting for Santa Paws, call the shelter at
344-7297 beginning Monday, November 3rd. Each sitting costs $45.00, which
includes one 8 x 10, four 4 x 5 and eight wallet photos. Additional photos
and holiday cards can be purchased as well, and all pictures will be
delivered in plenty of time for holiday giving. As an added bonus,
especially for those of you that are Harley fans, you can have the picture
taken on (or with) a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. And for those of you that
want to go totally Harley, Coastal Pet Products will be providing special
Harley wear for the four footed members of you family. With or without
Santa, these pictures will be one of a kind, so make your reservation early!

Don't put your calendar away yet, we have one more event left! The last
event of the year will be the Home for the Holidays Adopt-a-Thon on December
5th, 6th, and 7th. Please sign up to help by 5 pm on Wednesday December
3rd. The shifts for the Adopt-a-Thon will run as follows:

I have several reminders and notes for all of you:

1. If you have baked Buster Biscuits or made the catnip mice or strawberries
   for Chris Cringle, please bring them into the shelter as soon as possible.
   We have to get them decorated and packaged by the 10th, so the sooner you
   can bring them in the better. If you would like to help decorate or package
   the biscuits, let me know and I can get you in touch with the head baker for
   a packaging date.
2. For those of you that haven't made it out to the shelter in the last few
   weeks, we have moved the Volunteer file cabinet and the Kitty Corner over to
   where the critters have been living, and the critters have been moved down
   the hall by the adoption kennels. Ask the Front Desk staff if you can't
   find it and they will point you in the right direction.
   
3. Please remember to sign in and out every time you volunteer. We can use
   these totals to get grants, and I use them to see if I have to many
   volunteers coming out at one time. Don't forget to always wear a nametag
   when you are volunteering, this allows the staff to see that you are a
   trained CCHS volunteer and also allows the public to know you are a trained
   volunteer.
   
4. Don't forget to use the Comment sheets for the cats and the dogs. The
   more information we have on the animal the better we are able to place it in
   the right home environment. Also, when you use the comment sheets, please
   write down the animal's ID number (the number that starts with the letter
   A). Sometimes we have two animals with the same name, and if we don't have
   the ID number, we don't know which animal is listed.
   
5. We are in need of towels (old or new), cat toys, and cat blankets (Hand
   towels tend to be the best size for the cat kennels) . If you have any that
   you can donate please bring them in when you come to volunteer.