The Weyburn Humane Society was surprised and delighted by some of the unique donations they received recently and hope to see the trend continue, as they are currently in need of funding.
One of the most unique donations the Humane Society has ever received came recently from a young bride-to-be. Cherisse Rainey gave the Animal Shelter a cheque for $350 on behalf of her and her then fiancé, Trevor Warburton, which was made in lieu of favours for guests at their September 18 wedding in Weyburn.
The couple announced this exchange with small cards placed on each table at their wedding reception featuring a photo of their Chihuahua Daisy and a message that read: "Some animals are not as lucky as me, so in lieu of favours we have made a donation to the Weyburn Humane Society."
Rainey said that she and her husband are both animal lovers and felt that the money would go to better use this way.
Another recent fundraiser was put on by two 12-year-old girls, Carly Anderson and Taylor Anderson. They held a garage sale and raised $362 for the Shelter.
"I was really impressed," said Animal Shelter employee Nicole Griffin, who accepted the donation from the girls on the Humane Society's behalf.
Griffin said that although they may have received financial contributions from local garage sales before, the initiative that the young girls took was all their own.
Carol LaCharite, member of the Weyburn Humane Society board of directors and member of the fundraising committee, said they are grateful for any and all donations made to the Society as, so far, they have only received half of the donations they acquired in 2009.
?We are in desperate need of donations,? said LaCharite. ?Donations are down by half this year and our dog training numbers are also down.?
The Shelter runs a dog behaviour training course led by Bill Allen of Out West Canine Consulting as an annual fundraiser, but registration was down this year from previous years.
New this year to the Shelter is the Sponsor a Spay or Neuter program, which has residents sponsor a pet to be spayed or neutered, allowing the animal to be more easily adopted.
Another first for the Humane Society was a fundraiser that had them providing taxi services for guests at a local wedding this summer.
?The people rented a van and asked us to be designated drivers,? explained LaCharite. ?The wedding was on a farm a few miles out of town, so we drove people there and back to town and asked for donations.?
LaCharite said that the wedding guests were very generous, donating $285. The family that hired them doubled what their guests gave, plus provided them with a $100 tip, for a total of $670 for the Society.
The Weyburn Humane Society is not leaving all the fundraising to residents, however. They have been busy this year putting on their own fundraisers.
A garage sale was held at the Shelter this summer by board members, earning $800. Also this summer, the board held a barbecue at the Weyburn Co-op Community Deck, raising $600.
?This was great because we didn?t have to buy anything for this fundraiser, the Co-op provided all the food,? said LaCharite.
The Society also has 10 piggy banks at various businesses around town, which they collect the contents from on a regular basis.
At the Shelter, license plates that state: ?I care...show compassion for animals? are being sold for $25 each. All proceeds from the sales of these plates go back to the Shelter.
The board is hoping that an upcoming fundraiser will be successful. They will be selling 50/50 tickets that they plan to draw for in December
?It will be nice Christmas money for the winner,? said LaCharite.
The tickets will be available at the Shelter and from any board member. Humane Society board members include Dave Frayn, Kelly Eddy, Darlene Mazer, Lorenda Rogers, Linda Stephanson, Jeannine Kater, Dave Rennie, Carrie Thorne, Barb Porter, Colleen Morrice, Jeff Cooney, Heather Haupstein and LaCharite.
The board is currently seeking new members and will be accepting registrations from anyone who is interested at their AGM, which is tentatively set for November 17 at Hilltop Manor at 7 p.m.
The Humane Society is always seeking volunteers to walk dogs and spend time with the animals at the shelter. They also accept donations of leashes, collars, crates, dry or canned dog and cat food, treats, kitty litter, rawhides, bleach, dust pans, paper towels, chew toys and gasoline vouchers for their van.
