Author Topic: Our local CP branch may close if they dont get volunteers  (Read 6967 times)

Offline Stuart

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Re: Our local CP branch may close if they dont get volunteers
« Reply #8 on: August 01, 2009, 23:31:48 PM »
hmmmmm, thanks for the information folks, it's got me thinking :innocent:
even a quick call to find out wouldn't hurt  ;)
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Offline Liz

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Re: Our local CP branch may close if they dont get volunteers
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2009, 21:32:34 PM »
 :shocked:
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Offline Yvonne

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Re: Our local CP branch may close if they dont get volunteers
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2009, 21:04:27 PM »
Did you ever get to the bottom of why your help was not wanted ??  Absolutely absurd.
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Offline Liz

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Re: Our local CP branch may close if they dont get volunteers
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2009, 20:44:52 PM »
Just so folks know we had fostered for 10 years before moving here usually ferals to be tamed down and litters of kittens who had their own babysitter as we both worked full time then, we also have our own equipment - we bought everything they needed - kitten pens - 2 off, Mother and kitten pen - the big one , 2 nice metal traps and of course crush cages

We are also very lucky that my husbands job allows us to do charity matching for any major event we get sponsor for - the sponsered walk raises about £2000 annually for the old branch of our CP and we also got paid 40 hours a week for fostering - this was easy money as we both enjoyed the fostering and taming - we also covered all food, litter and any vets bills when our darling fosters were with us - our old branch cried the day we moved and thats why we still do as much as we can for them

I would love to help in any capaciuty but I was advised that my help in any way shape or form wasn't wanted - old guard CP here all well in to retirement age and not a lot of youngsters despite posters asking for help - I was advised by an IM and to this day they have never visited me to see my cats or our set up it was a case of sorry you may have idea's we don't like

Anyone who has visited the clan - I was homechecked for taking on the 3 older ferals last year and the hoemchecker advised in her next life she was joining the clan as they had such an idyliic setting and life! :shocked:
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Offline Canterbury_cats (Sharon)

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Re: Our local CP branch may close if they dont get volunteers
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2009, 19:01:56 PM »
One person on Purrs helps me with chasing up the kitten neutering and does our website for lost and found.. So alot can be done on the web..
I have another lady doing posters for me....
Another person who would take lovely photos for our cats if the usual fosterers are not able to..
3 jobs that i used to do and now someone has kindly offered to do them for me.. Such small jobs but they help us all out..

And would you believe it with "LUCK" i will have 2 new homecheck people soon.. !! Both for areas that are not covered at the moment very well with volunteers who offer to help... But there are still areas with big gaps..!!

The thing with running a rescue is the more known you get and the more proactive you are the busy you get and the more people you need.. ! But we are very lucky those volunteers that we do have our like gold dust... I almost fainted when we found ourselves a Transport Officer!! as we didnt have anything so grand as that before it was pot luck!!  We are getting there but its taken alot of hard work to get where we are and we still need to fill the gaps..
Cannot save the world, but if everyone does something we can have a jolly good job trying too....

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Offline Pinkbear (Julie)

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Re: Our local CP branch may close if they dont get volunteers
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2009, 17:45:33 PM »
Thing is Stuart, it's the dull and boring jobs which people shy away from... but they still need to be done!   :tired: Minor things like sticking posters up plugging a fundraising event, or emptying food donation bins and dropping food off to fosterers, or organising a raffle, sponsored event, holding a flag day, keeping tags on when 2nd vacs are due, advertising specific homing appeals, managing catchat pages, setting up viewings, selling things on Ebay, running a recycling scheme (like Pudding), trapping ferals, vet runs, homechecks, issuing neutering vouchers .... it goes on and on and on!  :Crazy:

Often all those little jobs don't actually take long in themselves, but ad all the little jobs together and they ad up and make an enormous headache if only 2 or 3 people are trying to do the lot. So Stuart I am sure there is something you could do to contribute to the running of the branch if you wanted to... ensuring all shops, vets and public notice boards have information or appeal posters on them would only take a few hours a month for example, but CP fights for every bit of publicity they can get and even in our area we still have lots of people who have never heard of CP.  :shy:

So fostering and cat cuddling is not all what CP volunteers do and we always struggle for people to do the dull bits.  :innocent: We have been blessed lately with some really proactive and reliable people... like the person who empties our food bins from the vets every thursday. Works like a Swiss watch and never misses a week. They do it on their way shopping and drop it off to one of us on the way back. It probably takes them 20/30 minutes a week but vital for us as we can relax as we know it's done and the food is there when we need it.  ;)

Offline Liz

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Re: Our local CP branch may close if they dont get volunteers
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2009, 16:18:36 PM »
Stuart it is such a shame but folks are being put off by all the rules - FIV is my bug bear but thats a whole other story

It is also the fact that I want to help but CP think I have to many cats despite having isolation facilities and not wishing to be blunt I will not put my own cats health as risk having some unhandlable ferals makes me edgy should anything happen alsp the very sad loss of Gem to FIP makes me over cautious

I would love to help but the North east aren't the most friendly bunch of folks - you excluded as it was lovely to have you visit the clan - so me I still help out 150 miles away as they are still glad to have our help even if it is only monetary and the odd sack of damaged food!
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Offline Stuart

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Our local CP branch may close if they dont get volunteers
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2009, 15:05:42 PM »
I Didn't know the Peterhead Branch had closed  :shocked: :(
Just wish I could do More to help, but our situation ( working away from home, staying in a Flat etc )
is not an Ideal setup

I'd just dropped off 24 tins for our CP branch at the co-op when I read this in the Paper  :(

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1334273

« Last Edit: August 01, 2009, 15:06:28 PM by Stuart ( Olivia's Butler ) »
Dad to Bridge babes Hamish, Misty, Olivia and Robbie :'(

 


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