Yes, I have actually been speechless since SOS - Melinda's Birthday Bash on Saturday, December 10. And, the next day there was an article about us in the Courier-Post. Between these two happenings the shelter became so busy, we could hardly keep up. Wish list donations and monetary donations began pouring in. We went from thinking about canceling Melinda's Birthday Bash because we only had 70 tickets sold to being sold out and turning people away at the door. I apologize for the overcrowding (now you know how the dogs and cats feel!) and for the turning away. For everyone who stayed and participated in the basket auction, silent auction, the great music and dancing, delicious food and all the wonderful deserts, we thank you all for supporting the animals at Almost Home. Also, many of you left but made a donation for the shelter. Thank you so much for both your support and understanding. We will do this again next year in a bigger venue so we can accomodate everyone. We hope you will continue to be part of the Almost Home Family throughout the year.
I had so many things I wanted to say while I had all of you together in one place. The night seemed to go so fast and I didn't get to say much of what I had intended. So, I decided to write it here and send it to all of you to read.
First, I can't thank everyone enough for making this such a successful event. The team who organized and put this event together were dedicated and worked so hard. They are: Anna Panaccio, Angela Thompson, Marguerite Phillips, Jamie Weaver, April Weaver, Ken and Sharon Sweeten, Carl and Nancy Miller, Chuck and Sara Iepson, Robin, Scott and Diane Kerr and Ian Welsh. Also, thanks to Jake Weaver, Morgan and Gretchen Sweeten too. The kids came to all the meetings, helped carry things, made posters, helped set-up and everything they could do to help. So proud of them.
So many people donated baskets and items for the basket auction and silent auction. Thank you all.
Too many to mention by name here, but you all know who you are. You made the night a huge success!!! A remarkable offer was made during the evening. A friend of Almost Home who attended the Birthday Bash pledged 50 cents for every dollar that was donated to the silent auction and the basket auction. That offer resulted in an additional donation of $2200. Thank you so much. The person who did this prefers to stay anonymous. This is a remarkarble individual.
Thank you to The Strayz and Denise Mumie for the great music, Bistro Di Marino for the delicious buffet and DiBartolo's Bakery for the beautiful and yummy cakes. Thank you to April Weaver who made all of the homemade desserts and the marshmallow pops. Thank you to Lauri from the Candy Jar for all of the chocolate dog and cat pops. Morgan and Gretchen Sweeten and their Girl Scout Troop made all the bone favors for the tables.
A great big Thank you to all of you who came to the shelter on Saturday morning ready to work. You walked dogs and cleaned cat cages and did everything that needed to be done so that the staff was able to go home, shower and join us Saturday evening. I don't think I even know everyone's name who showed up to help. For some, it was the first time they ever came to the shelter and we hope everyone will come back on a regular basis. Lou and Georgette Forgionne, Traci Paul and Marc Portner, Ken, Sharon, Morgan and Gretchen Sweeten, Rich and Pat and anyone else I forgot to mention. (Just realized my age and that I have to begin writing these things down. Still think I can remember everything!)
Special thank you to Lou Forgionne who has helped me through the few weeks before the event when things were so difficult at the shelter. I was a mess, thinking we may have to shut the doors. Lou called everybody he could think of to help. And he kept telling me to "hang in there." Well, we got through it and now on to the future to make sure this doesn't happen again. Thank you Lou.
Thank you to Carl and Nancy Miller. Carl is one of the most dedicated dog walkers we have. He works with the dogs who have the most energy. He runs with them and takes them for long walks to tire them out both mentally and physically. Their time at the shelter is much less stressful. They know Carl will be back soon! Nancy went to work on her crafts, selling everything to raise over $1500. Thank you both.
Actually, all the people I mentioned above do so much more than I am giving them credit for here. They are all regulars at the shelter, pitching in and doing whatever needs to be done when they are there. I don't know what we would do without all of you. I especially don't know how we would have gotten through the month of December without you. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
Oh, and to my husband, Ian, who put up with all the outbursts of crying and the sleepless nights and, those lovely mood swings. Thank you for putting up with me.
I gotta tell ya, as much as we all use the phrase, "I hate people (usually refering to people who have dumped their pets or treated them cruelly)," the past two months have completely renewed my faith in people. It is truly amazing how many people responded when our plea for help went out. My hope for the future of our shelter has been rejuvenated by the energy of all of you who came to the rescue of Almost Home in our greatest hour of need. This energy has continued and even become stronger since the event and now through the holidays.
One of the things I had planned to talk about at the Birthday Bash was our plans for the future of Almost Home and with your help, we can work together to make Almost Home a model shelter in Camden County. As we approach the New Year, my wish is for all of you to join us in creating a better place for both the animals and people (staff, volunteers, donors and customers). So, the intent of this blog was to say thank you. Thank you for your support, your donations, your help in caring for the animals, for helping to restore out faith in the work we do everyday with the dogs and cats. We have a plan for the future and we hope you will continue on with us and become part of that plan. In the next few blogs, I will share the plan we have. Our hope is that in reading about the plan you will find a piece of it that interests you... A program or service that you would like to see come about to help the community, a humane education program for children in our schools, maybe the planning of new and improved cat rooms joining in the planning of future fundrasing efforts. Whatever your interest, we hope you will join us in creating the new and improved, bigger and better future of Almost Home.
Again, Thank you all for you support, your encouragement, your time and effort. We couldn't do it without you. I hope you will consider becoming a part of the future for the dogs and cats of Almost Home.
Nancy
P.S. Please excuse the typos and the grammatical errors. I am not a writer, I just write what I am thinking and feeling.
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