CCHS Volunteer Newletter

March 2004

Hello everyone!

This year has gotten off to a great start- we have adopted just over 560 animals in the last two months; that's a little over 100 more than this time last year! With your continued support, we may have another record setting year! Among the adoptees in February are the cats Janet, Kokomo and long term resident Ivan. The chow's King and Little Girl were adopted together, and Bubba also found a home this past month. We wish them all the best in their new homes.

We have a few events coming up in the next few months. The first one is a benefit to help the animals in our care. The Bow-Dacious String Band has teamed up with The Prairiedogs to perform a children's concert at 3:30 PM on Sunday, March 14 at Lincoln Square Mall. We will have a few animals out there for adoption, so I will need a few volunteers to help get the animals set up, stay with the animals during the
concert and give out information on the shelter. After the concert Volunteers will need to help get the animals ready to go back to the shelter. Volunteers will be needed from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm. If you can help please let me know by 5:00pm on Friday March 11th.

Prefer to attend the concert instead of volunteer? Admission is free, but all donations and raffle proceeds will go to help the animals in our care.The band is made up of 25 string students aged 6 to 20-something who will perform a variety of selections focusing on animals in honor of the Humane Society, and Irish songs for St. Patrick's Day. The Prairiedogs, a local bluegrass/country-western band, will play along and also perform a short set by themselves. If you would like more information on the concert let me know and I can get you in touch with the appropriate people.

The next event will be the Illini Cat Club's Annual All Breed Cat Show. They will be accepting donations of food for the shelter, and have asked us to have an informational booth at the event. While we won't be having animals out there, we will need volunteers to man the booth and hand out basic shelter information and answer questions about the shelter. Volunteers will be needed Saturday March 27th from 11 am to 5 pm, and Sunday March 28th from 9 am to 3 pm. If you are interested in helping please let me know by 5:00 pm on Thursday March 25th. The shifts will run as follows:

March 27th: March 28th:
All day: 11 -5 All day: 9 - 3
First shift: 11 - 2 First Shift: 9 - 12
Second shift: 2 - 5 Second Shift: 12 - 3

The next Event will be Bark in the Park on Saturday April 17th. This years event will again be held at Centennial Park in Champaign. Registration and dog games will begin at 9 am, with the walk starting at 11 am. I will need volunteers to work from 9 am to noon, and I will need a few early morning people to help us set up at 7:30 am. Volunteers working at Bark will help with registration and games, as well as the break stations for the dogs during the walk itself. Please sign up to help by Wednesday April 14th. If you are planning on walking, you can pick up a registration form later this month.

We are starting a Jr. Volunteer Mentor Program for the Jr. Volunteer Program. Jr. Volunteer Mentors will work with Jr. Volunteers (10 to 15 years old). Jr. Volunteers are required to be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times, but Mentors will take the place of the parent/guardian if they cannot come with the Jr. Volunteer. Mentors will accompany and assist Jr. Volunteers with a variety of duties, including cat
cuddling, puppy play, and taking dogs out to the play area. Mentors will be able to chose their animal preference- cats, dogs, or both. Mentors will be expected to be available for 1 to 2 hours a week, at least once a month, with days and times varying by need. Mentors will be contacted at least one week prior to the requested volunteer date to see if they are available. Mentors will need to attend a 15 minute training session upon entering the program. If you are interested in becoming a Jr. Volunteer Mentor please let me know.

There will be an Adoption Counselor class on March 28th and April 4th (both Sunday's) from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Adoption Counselors assist the Front Desk Staff 1 to 2 hours a week by helping match adopters and animals to each other. To be eligible for the Adoption Counselor Program you must volunteer regularly (at least 1 hour once a week) for a minimum of 1 month. If you would like to sign up for the Adoption Counselor class please let me know by Monday, March 22 at 5:00 pm.

I have a few general reminders for everyone:
-Please remember that all volunteers must sign in and out, as well as wear a name tag. All name tags must be easily visible to staff and the public; and if you are walking dogs and need to wear a jacket please make sure your name tag is visible on the jacket.

-Please remember that all animals must be in their kennels when we close (6 Monday thru Saturday, 4 on Sunday). The only volunteers that should be staying later than closing should be Vet Tech Assistants and Adoption Counselors. Any one else wanting to stay past closing must get approval before beginning their volunteer time for that day.

-Please don't forget that to remain an active volunteer you must volunteer at least 1 hour every 6 months (January to June, July to December). Both volunteer time in the shelter and at events will fulfill the 1 hour requirement.

I hope you are enjoying your time as a valuable CCHS Volunteer. If you would like to expand your volunteer responsibilities and try something new, please let me know. Everyone has been doing a great job- we can't thank you enough for your time and dedication to the animals in our care.

Julie

Julie Keith
Volunteer Coordinator
Champaign County Humane Society
1911 East Main Street &Mac240; Urbana, IL 61802
Julie@cuhumane.org &Mac240; www.cuhumane.org
(217) 344-9314 Phone &Mac240; (217) 344-7299 Fax