As the new year approaches, it is around this time that many people reflect on the year just passed and look forward to a fresh start, I am no exception.
There is a lot of sentiment going around at the moment that 2013 would be a year best forgot. For the wildlife shelter and sister trail riding business I am currently working at especially. The combined efforts of a fatal liver disease in black bears and multiple, expensive and damaging horse injuries, means that this year has been pretty rough for the people here. For the rest of the world it has not fared much better. The devastating effects of Typhoon Haiyan, the ice storm that has ravaged eastern Canada, ruining Christmas for thousands, and a frankly indescribable attack on a soldier in my home town of London are just a few of the atrocities that have left the world shaken and full of negativity.
However so much has happened this year to be happy or to be proud about, that has gone unreported on international news, and thus unnoticed by millions of people who don't actively search out this information. For example a 3 year old girl born with HIV has been functionally cured of the virus, speed limits have been put in place for boats travelling along migratory routes of whales in order to protect them, dozens of new species have been discovered all over the globe and the world has a pope that doesn't support the judgement of homosexuality, questions the church for it's outrageous spending and even sneaks out at night to feed the homeless. Despite being an atheist, and generally opposed to the church, I think this is at least a step in the right direction, therefore a positive on my list.
Finally a little closer to home for me, you may remember that a few weeks ago I made a post about a fundraiser at the shelter that had the potential to raise CAN$20,000 thanks to an anonymous donator. Well thanks to the generosity and support of people all across the world we hit our goal, and the Christmas tree in Smithers, B.C is glowing with the light of 800 bulbs that were bought to raise the money. The Christmas period not only gave us a beautiful tree here at the shelter but the arrival of a new little bear, aptly named Tinsel. It was found living harmoniously with a bunch of chickens in a coop, around 30-50lbs underweight and sent to us on Christmas eve. It is so small that the chickens it was sharing food with were bigger than the bear itself.
In some ways 2013 was a difficult year but no-one said life was easy and that bad things wouldn't happen. The key is to embrace it and know that there is always good news out there, even if you have to do a little searching.
Showing posts with label Fundraising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fundraising. Show all posts
Monday, 30 December 2013
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Dawson's Lights
Fundraising is extremely important here at the shelter. The whole organisation is run off the donations of generous people and companies, and without them it is likely that NLWS wouldn't exist and the animals that we care for wouldn't have a place to go when they needed help.
As I have mentioned in a previous post, this has been a very slow year for the shelter. We didn't get our first bear until September and the lack of animals sadly means that donations have been at an all time low. Despite having fewer animals than in previous years, costs are still high as general maintenance of the site and enclosures as well as the feeding and caring of the animals we do have and the permanent residents is not cheap.
Every year, in December, NLWS holds a special fundraiser called Dawson's Lights. We have a large Christmas tree in town and we sell coloured light bulbs for CAN$25 each. The idea is to light up the Christmas tree by December 24th, Christmas Eve, through the sales of bulbs. However this year something truly incredible has happened. An anonymous donor has pledged that if we can raise CAN$10,000 through selling light bulbs, they will match it meaning we have the potential to raise CAN$20,000 in one month. There are no words to describe just how much this money would mean to everyone at the shelter. So much can be done with this amount, and we are all incredibly thankful to this donor and to everyone who buys bulbs.
If anyone reading this would like to buy a light bulb you can donate here https://www.canadahelps.org/dn/10649. If you can't buy a bulb, which I completely understand as most people reading this are students after all, you could always share it and tell others. Every bulb counts.
Thank you!
As I have mentioned in a previous post, this has been a very slow year for the shelter. We didn't get our first bear until September and the lack of animals sadly means that donations have been at an all time low. Despite having fewer animals than in previous years, costs are still high as general maintenance of the site and enclosures as well as the feeding and caring of the animals we do have and the permanent residents is not cheap.
Every year, in December, NLWS holds a special fundraiser called Dawson's Lights. We have a large Christmas tree in town and we sell coloured light bulbs for CAN$25 each. The idea is to light up the Christmas tree by December 24th, Christmas Eve, through the sales of bulbs. However this year something truly incredible has happened. An anonymous donor has pledged that if we can raise CAN$10,000 through selling light bulbs, they will match it meaning we have the potential to raise CAN$20,000 in one month. There are no words to describe just how much this money would mean to everyone at the shelter. So much can be done with this amount, and we are all incredibly thankful to this donor and to everyone who buys bulbs.
If anyone reading this would like to buy a light bulb you can donate here https://www.canadahelps.org/dn/10649. If you can't buy a bulb, which I completely understand as most people reading this are students after all, you could always share it and tell others. Every bulb counts.
Thank you!
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