CCHS Volunteer Newletter

September 2004

Hello Everyone! Its hard to believe the summer is coming to a close! I know all of you have been waiting to hear the official total from the adoptathon- it was a big success with over 70 pets finding new homes! Thanks to everyone that helped during the adoptathon, it wouldn't have been possible without you!

However, the big news for August is that Duchess the black and white cat finally found a home. For those of you that had never met Duchess, she was a wonderful cat that was a CCHS resident for 13 months before she got adopted! Congratulations to Duchess, as well as Tony Danza and Mystique. August was also a good month for the dogs, Abbey, Lestat, and Jake all found homes last month! We all hope they are doing well in their new homes!

We have several out of shelter events coming up in the next two months. First will be the Petsmart Adopt-a-Thon on September 10th, 11th, and 12th. We will need volunteers at Petsmart on North Neil in Champaign all three days from 11 am to 5 pm. We will need a few cat volunteers each day, and a few dog volunteers as well since we will be taking out a few dogs each day. If you can help any of these days please let me know by Monday, September 6th so I can give the schedule to the CCHS Petsmart Coordinator. The shifts will run as follows:

Friday, September 10th - All Day: 11 am to 5 pm/First Shift: 11 am to 2 pm/Second Shift: 2- 5 pm
Saturday, September 11th - All Day: 11 am to 5 pm/First Shift: 11 am to 2 pm/Second Shift: 2 - 5 pm
Sunday, September 12th - All Day: 11 am to 5 pm/First Shift: 11 am to 2 pm/Second Shift: 2- 5 pm

We have two more events planned for that weekend - Select Comfort at Market Place Mall is having us back again for another Mini Cat Adoption event on Saturday, September 11th. We will have cats and critters out there looking for a home. I will need volunteers from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. **If you can help transport cats or cages in your vehicle please let me know.** Please let me know if you can help by Monday, September 6th. The shifts will run as follows:

All Day: 11:00 am to 5:00 pm (may include helping load animals at theshelter or helping unload them after the event)
First Shift: 10:00 am to 1:45 pm (will include helping load animals at the shelter)
Second Shift: 1:45 pm to 5:30 pm (will include helping load animals for the return trip to the shelter)

The third event planned for Saturday the 11th will be the Animal Outfitters Open House. We will have some cats out there looking for a home, and will need volunteers willing to talk to the public about the shelter and about cat care. I will need volunteers from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. **If you can help transport cats or cages in your vehicle please let me know.** Please let me know if you can help by Monday, September 6th. The shifts will run as follows:

All Day: 11 am to 5 pm
First Shift: 11 am to 2 pm
Second Shift: 2 pm to 5 pm

Animal Outfitters will also be holding a dog wash that day, so we will need volunteers to help with that as well. The dog wash will be from noon to 4 pm, and all proceeds will benefit the animals in our care. Shifts for the dog wash will follow:

All day: Noon to 4 pm
First Shift: noon to 2 pm
Second Shift: 2 pm to 4 pm
**Please note that volunteers working until 4 will be expected to stay until all the dogs waiting have been washed**

Osco's on Green Street in Champaign has offered us their location for a carwash on September 18th. All proceeds will benefit the animals in our care. The details have not been finalized yet, but I'll send out a note once we have everything finalized in the next few days. Please keep an eye out for the details!

A Fetching Ball, the CCHS Auction will be held on Friday, October 8th at the Hawthorne Suites in Champaign. I will need some volunteers to help with set during the afternoon, and volunteers to help out the night of the event, from 6:00 to 9:30 pm. Please let me know if you would like to help with Fetch, and what shift you want to sign up for by Friday, October 1st. Anyone signing up for an all evening shift will be given jobs as you sign up, but should be willing to fill in wherever needed the night of the event. (If we discover we are short handed in one area, you should be willing to transfer to that area.) Please note that you may be asked to be a yupper if we need the help. The Shifts will run as follows:

Set Up:
Noon to 4 pm, possibly later if set up takes longer than anticipated.

All evening: Check In: Check Out: Yuppers:
6:00 pm - 9:30 pm 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm 8:30 pm - 9:30 pm 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm

**Please note that if the event runs later than 9:30 pm, volunteers will be expected to stay until the event is finished.**

(Yuppers will be responsible for "yupping" when someone bids during the live auction. This will help the auctioneer find the bidders in a timely manner. Yuppers should be willing to be in the spotlight as you will draw attention to yourself, and should have a loud voice to be heard over the crowd in the room.)

The last event we have coming up soon is the Annual Prairieland Feeds Pet Fair on October 16th and 17th. Volunteers will be responsible for watching a group of adoptable kittens (if it isn't too hot) and a cage of guinea pigs and a rabbit cage from the shelter (we take out a group each day); and giving out basic information about the shelter. I will need help for the following Shifts:

Saturday October 16th: Sunday October 17th:
11 am to 1 pm 1 pm to 3 pm
1 pm to 3 pm 3 pm to 5 pm
3 pm to 5 pm

Both days I will need one person from the first shift to transport the animals to the Pet Fair, and one person from the last shift to transport the animals back to the shelter. If you want to sign up for a shift, please let me know by Monday, October 11th so I can have the schedule confirmed by the 14th. If you have any questions or need more information, please let me know.

There will be an Adoption Counselor class on September 19th and 26th (both Sunday's) From 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Adoption Counselors assist the front desk staff by helping potential adopters find the right animal for their home and family, so Adoption Counselor's should be able to work well with the public as well as with the animals. Counselors do this by talking to the adopters to get information about their lifestyle and what they expect from the animal; then they try to match the adopter to an animal that has compatible breed characteristics. Class space is limited, so if you are interested in the class, please sign up soon. I will need anyone interested to sign up by Monday September 13th. If you would like more information on Adoption Counseling before you sign up, please let me know so I can send you the information before the class begins.

The Chris Cringle Craft Fair is just around the corner, so we need to get our inventory ready for the sale. I will need people to help bake the Buster Biskits dog treats and the Kitty Kisses - we need a lot of these so we don't sell out. Please let me know if you are interested in baking the biskits or kisses so I can get you the recipe and keep track of who will be bringing in batches of them. We will need to have all biskits and kisses in the shelter by Monday, November 8th.

Not up to baking, but love to crochet? We also need catnip toys to sell as well. If you are interested in making the cat nip toys please let me know and I can get you the instructions. The shelter will provide the catnip as well, as long as we have at least one weeks notice to ensure delivery of the catnip. We will need all toys in the shelter by Monday, September 8th as well.

I only have a few notes to pass on to everyone this month:

-Our CCHS Petsmart Coordinator is ready to train volunteers for the Petsmart Luv-A-Pet center. If you are interested in working with our cats at Petsmart on North Neil in Champaign, or would like more information on the Petsmart program, please let me know so I can get you in touch with Katie.

-We are working on organizing a Humane Education Program for schools. If you are interested in the program please let me know so I can pass your information on to the Education Committee. If you know any teachers that may be interested, please have them contact me as well.

-We would like to start updating the website pictures and will need volunteer help to assist in this task. We are looking for a few volunteers to come in Monday mornings to hold the animals for the pictures. Volunteers wanting to help with the pictures must be able to work with both cats and dogs. Please let me know if you are interested in helping update pictures in the next few weeks.

-We are still in need of newspapers to line the cat and puppy cages. Any bundles you can bring in are greatly appreciated.

-Don't forget about the Correct The Coordinator contest. If you are the first to contact me with the official mistake you get a small prize!

Thank you again for taking the time to volunteer. We could not do this job without your help and support. If you have any comments, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to call me or email me. I want your
experience here to be enjoyable. After all, the animals enjoy having you spend time with them, so you should enjoy spending time with them as weel.

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