by Connie TuckerSpecial to the Aroostook Republican
Just like every other nonprofit organization in The County, Caribou Pet Rescue (CPR) relies on fundraising to help keep us in the black. Since our inception in March 2006, we have been blessed by the kindness of so many generous donors. Without them, we might have folded in that critical first year.
Contributed Photo
Nancy Frost of Caribou has placed her beautiful new hope chest in her living room and is shown with her cat, Sally, and her border collie, Windsor. Nancy won the chest, which was handcrafted and donated to Caribou Pet Rescue (CPR) by Duane Walton of Caribou, in a drawing this fall. Nancy bought two tickets before the drawing, one at Caribou Fest and another at the Fall Arts & Crafts Sale. Fundraising events like this one can bring in significant income for CPR. We welcome your fundraising ideas.
Even though we are more stable this year, fundraising remains a critical factor in our ability to prevail. We must continue to find new and exciting ways to capture attention and garner continued support.
Here are a few ways we raised funds in the past: bake sales, food sales, bottle drives, a car wash, pet photos with Santa, 50/50 drawings, and drawings for donated items. The Stockholm Quilting Bee (Nancy Michaud, Emily Johnston, Georgette Thomas, Mary Albert, Barb Thibodeau, Albertine Dufour, Sandra Voisine, Judy Guerrette, and teacher, Cindy Harvey) created a quilt with a charming pet theme, and ticket sales raised over $1,000! Duane Walton lovingly handcrafted a beautiful cedar-lined oak hope chest, helping us raise nearly $500 just in time for heating season.
Many others have donated crafts, pet-related gifts, homemade dog bicuits and cat treats, fudge and magnets, all which we sell at fairs and public events There are many others too numerous to list here, but you know who you are and we are blessed by your generosity. With this continued supply of desirable handiwork and food, we continue to inject our budget with vital dollars.
Do you have a new or unusual fundraising idea? We’d love to hear about it. Are you willing to help us with fundraising in any way? We’d love to hear from you. Just talk to any of our board members (John Swanberg, Paula DeMerchant, Norma Milton, Hugh Kirkpatrick, Rick Taggett, Mary Walton, and Derrick Weitlich) or call us at 498-3800, leave your name, and we will call you back.
We will begin our capital campaign in 2008 so we can build our own facility. Our rented building, the former Black Hill Kennels, was a great starting point, but now we need more room for animals and employees, a treatment room, storage, an isolation building for sick animals—the list goes on and on.
We are in desperate need of a digital camera for our shelter. We also need help paying our fuel bill this winter. If you can help, please contact us.
Thank you for your support through donations and volunteerism. Our shelter is located at 6 Richards Road in Caribou. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 488, Caribou, ME 04736. Our telephone number is 498-3800. Caribou Pet Rescue, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible.
Visit our new Web site, www.cariboupetrescue.org, for shelter news and photos of our adorable, adoptable pets.
