Did you know...

...that we get by with a little help from our friends? It's true! Actually, a LOT of help. This was m0st recently illustrated by the incredible response we got last month when we put out an appeal for a new hot water system at the shelter. Before leaving work one Monday night, I sent an email explaining our need for an upgraded system. By Wednesday morning, we had raised all of the funds that we needed ($4,000) and the donations have continued to come in. When told that we have already reached our goal, donors have instructed us to use their gifts for other needs that we have. We know we have great friends, but not one of us expected such a huge wave of generosity and support. It was incredible.

Today, our Volunteer Coordinator, Cynthia Reed, brought me some old newsletters and news clippings that she found in her office. A "Critter Chatter" newsletter from 1988 gave a summary of the 1987 Building Fundraising Efforts. The summary looks like this...

• Ukrop's 2% Receipt Program.....................................$5,062.43
• Sad "Doggie" Banks in restaurants and businesses......$5,336.94
• Yard Sales.................................................................$4,731.37
• Chesterfield Utility Flyers..........................................$2,550.00
• Santa Claws Photo Session..........................................$3,537.00
• Santa Claws Posters....................................................$205.00
• Sweatshirts/T-shirts...................................................$509.00
• Val Pak.......................................................................$241.00
• Richmond Braves Fountain and Donations..................$250.00

These funds were added to the amount previously raised to bring the total up to $95,600.

Did our new hot water system seem like a pipe dream that Monday night when I sent that email? YES. Can you imagine what it must have been like in 1987 when the board decided to raise money for an entire facility? Did they know all along that they could do it? That our donors could do it? They must have. And they DID IT. Together.

Seeing the old newsletters and photos of "the old days" made me think of someone sitting at MY desk in the year 2041 and looking over old plans, and dreams, and how we built a new "campus" that had separate dog and cat buildings, how we expanded our spay/neuter services and opened a free-standing emergency veterinarian clinic, how we helped the entire Metro Richmond animal welfare community adopt the n0-kill philosophy that we have embraced from the beginning, and how feral cat colonies were being successfully managed with the cooperation of RAL, the Loving Spay and Neuter Clinic, and municipal shelters.

Dream big? Our founders did. And we have no choice but to keep up that pace.

Thank you all for taking this amazing journey with us.

Sincerely,

Amy D McCracken
Executive Director