MINUTES - APRIL - 2009
Happy spring everybody!
Sorry for the major delay in getting the minutes out this month,
it has been a hectic one!
New news for ca-r-ma this month:
- An application has been submitted for a community grant from
HRM, thanks to the hard work of Pamela and Jill. The grant is
requesting funding to create a calendar for ca-r-ma featuring cat
artwork by the children of Basinview Elementary School in
Bedford, gathered by Jill after giving a presentation to a 5th
grade art class there.
- Patrick Turner has agreed to take photos of the paintings, which
will be the basis of the calendar.
- The artwork will hopefully be auctioned off with proceeds going
to ca-r-ma.
- A quilt valued at $100 has been donated by June Young to be
raffled off for ca-r-ma. Thank you June!
- 3 more cats were rescued from the Carter Colony in March, two
of which were pregnant. Hoping to catch the remainder of the
cats this month!
- The Grover Country dance has been booked into the Sackville
Legion for Friday, July 10th, all proceeds going to ca-r-ma!
Thanks so much!
- We are still looking for fundraising ideas, some that have been
recommended and may be pursued include having a benefit show
at the Company House on Gottingen (Thank you Kelly!) and
having a sort of Gala. (Thank you Dr. Carnegy!)
- There was a population of feral cats that has been picked out
recently in Kings County that Animal Control had decided to
euthanize. Laurie Wheeler rushed in with the request to TNR the
animals, and was denied. She was allowed one week to capture
the animals before they went ahead with the initial plan. The SPCA
as well as many of us have protested these actions, and the
King's County Councillors have agreed not to take action until
everything is carefully considered. Good work Laurie and everyone!
That's all for this month folks, here's hoping that April Showers
are bringing the spring blossoms out soon!
Cheers,
Karen
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MINUTES - MARCH - 2009
Hello all!
Here are the months meeting minutes.
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, April 8 at 7pm at 25
Camelot Lane, Apt 204.
March's news:
- Conference with ca-r-ma.org corporate recently has come up
with a revised constitution and guidelines.
- We have sent in our financial report for 2008 to Acting President
Sharon McFarlane for taxation. Thank you once again to everyone
who was able to help out with fundraising and making donations
in 2008!!
- Thus far 16 cats have been rescued from the Carter Colony,
and one from a Halifax Shopping Center colony. Thank you to
everyone who assisted and continues to assist in the
rescue/maintenance of the colonies, we really couldn't do it
without you!
- The Bluenose Cat Show is coming up on April 11 at the
Dartmouth Sportplex. We are expecting to be selling tickets on a
fabulous cat tree generously donated by Danielle LeFort, valued
~$200. If anyone is interested in buying tickets, please contact
Pamela or myself, the draw will be held the day of the Cat Show.
- We are still welcoming ideas for calendars! We will have ideas
framed up shortly after our April meeting.
- We are working in conjunction with a local Country Music band
who is
interested in holding a concert, all proceeds donated to ca-r-ma.
org. We will send out further information as we get it.
- We are still hoping to find a venue for an open mic/coffee house
fundraiser event. Any suggestions anybody?
I hope everyone is have a great March, does anyone else smell
spring
in the air recently? :)
Cheers,
Karen
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MINUTES - FEBRUARY - 2009
Hello all!
Sorry for the big delay in getting the meeting minutes out this
month, I've been swamped!
An update on the Carter Colony:
-To date we have rescued 14 cats, 9 are currently in foster
awaiting return, and of those 2 are friendly and looking for their
forever homes. The garage that has been offered to us to use as
a temporary space for the cats has been outfitted to house the
cats until their return, many thanks to Pierre Filiatreaut with PACS!
-We have contacted Andrew Younger about getting some
support from the municipality, there seems to be some
opportunity to receive a grant later this year, pending a
successful application.
-We are currently experiencing a shortage of fosters, and are
looking for any supporters who could provide temporary homes
for cats prior to them being adopted out. Fostering is a wonderful
experience, I foster and I love the opportunity to help out these
cats and get to meet so many of them before they go to their
forever homes.
-We would like to say a big Thank You! to Best Friends Pet Co.
for their kind donation of bags of food, we appreciate your
support!
Fundraising coming up:
-We have a booth booked for the Bluenose Cat Show on April 11,
and thanks to the generosity of one of our volunteers, we may
have a cat condo to sell tickets on at the event. We will set up
there and inform other cat lovers about our group.
-We are currently working with a local country music band who
may be willing to have a concert to raise funds for ca-r-ma.
-A fundraising idea that has been suggested to us has caught
our imaginations. We are considering making a calendar to sell,
and are welcoming ideas for themes or photos from our
volunteers. If you have any suggestions, feel free to contact me
with them, or bring them forth at our next meeting!
-Our Valentines Day draw was held on February 14th at Sobeys in
Clayton Park. Congratulations to Dorothy Cartledge, we hope you
enjoy the basket!
Our next meeting is to be held on Wednesday, March 11, at 7pm
in a new location. We will be relocating the meetings to 25
Camelot Lane, Apartment 204. Camelot Lane is a small street off
Knightsridge Rd, which is off Dunbrack St in Clayton Park West
(opposite side of Dunbrack to the Carnegy Animal Hospital and
Tim Hortons.) If you need further directions to this venue, feel
free to contact me at any time.
I hope you all are having a great month, and we are looking
forward to seeing you in March!
Cheers,
Karen
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MINUTES - JANUARY - 2009
Hello everybody,
Here are the minutes from this past meeting.
New volunteers!
- We are happy to welcome Tasha, Richard and Erin to our group
this month. Thanks for getting involved!
Rescues!
- 5 more cats were rescued over the holidays.
- We are currently working on a colony of cats on Carters lane in
Dartmouth. There have been several cases of upper respiratory
and Feline Leukemia found there, as well as several healthy cats
who are currently undergoing veterinary care before being
returned. There are currently some caregivers in the area of the
colony who are feeding and watching out for the colony. We are
hoping to trap as many as possible to manage them, neuter them
and return them back to the colony.
- We have a potential space for recuperating cats from the
Carter colony, which requires litter pans, beds, blankets, food
dishes, incandescent light bulbs for heat, and much more. If
anyone has any donations of these items to make it would be
appreciated.
- Very importantly we are always looking for kennels (ie:
temporary housing big enough to contain litter, food, bed, etc.)
to house the rescued cats in while they are undergoing treatment
prior to release.
- The websites from the San Francisco SPCA, AlleyCat Allies, and
Neighbourhood Cats have been great sources of information for
our trap-neuter-return program.
Fundraising!
- We are currently looking for a venue to have an open mic night
for free or a reasonable cost. If anyone has any suggestions
please contact me.
- We are inviting our members to contact us about any
“sponsors” for our program – for any sort of donation they may
be willing to make, be it money, food, litter, bedding, kennels,
building supplies, etc.
- Looking for volunteers to man booths in Micmac Mall on
Wednesday, January 21st and Thursday, January 29th.
Next up!
- We will have booths selling tickets on our Valentines Day Basket
draw, as well as handing out information on the dates mentioned
above.
- Our next meeting is scheduled for the second Wednesday in
February, that is February 11, at 7pm in the Valhalla,
Stoneybrook court. If anyone needs further information as to
how to get there, please feel free to contact me.
I hope that everyone is taking a moment to enjoy the winter
wonderland we have outside these days, and that we are all
brainstorming great fundraising ideas to bring up at the next
meeting (or email them to me before hand!)
Cheers,
Karen