Saturday, November 17, 2012

Good Morning Good News !!!! November 17, 2012


I am SO excited !
     It’s gonna be a terrific day !
          Do YOU know why ?

Cus I got FRIENDS like YOU !


First off .... Better do the important stuff and make the announcements ... then I tell you why it be so good today.  OK?

Gotz to vote! 
Way important to vote. 
You know why?

Cuz if you vote everyday on every computer, at home and at work and on your phone, every day thru Dec 16th .... then Rikki’s Refuge can win $1,000 and ....

Do YOU know what we do with $1,000?

We feed 4,000 meals !!  YES !!!  Now that’s a whole lot and it makes us animals real happy.

So please vote along with me NOW  ..

You is on your puter, right?


OK so in just a minute you’re gonna click on my pic,
but let me ‘xplain what to do when you get there ...
it’s real easy ....
            you’ll enter: Rikkis Refuge in VA in the USA
            Search, Vote, and enter the encrypted word
            NO apps, NO email, NO data collected, FREE
            spread the word to all your friends and colleagues
            HELP RIKKI’S WIN
and now here it is - click on the pic me ME voting and you do it too !!!
Now wasn’t that FUN and EASY?  And doesn’t it feel good knowing you HELPED the animals?




It’s CFC and CVC time !!!
That’s where if you work for the govment or the state, you can give thru payroll deductions.  Even 50 cents a week helps us animals !!!  So please think about joining the group who give thru CFC and CVC.

If you found us in the catalog last year, you might be thinking we’re not in there this year. 

But WE ARE !!! 

We’ve been promoted to a National/International Organization !!!
How cool is that?  So you’ll find us there.  WHAT?  How can RIKKI’s be INTERNATIONAL you might be thinking.  Well we help lots of folks all over the world.  Sometimes animals even come from the farthest away places.  Animals need help everywhere.  We help animals get out of shelters all over and into homes.  And almost all the time, it doesn’t cost anything but our time.  Our volunteers make it happen.  Working with shelters, pounds, other organizations.  Volunteers who drive animals to new homes. 

And we’ve help private individuals and small groups all over the world help animals.  Sometimes by answering emergency questions.  Sharing how we solved a certain problem.  And gee, we’ve solved LOTS of them !!!   Helping them to get a TNR program going, a new Speuter Clinic.  I mean there is so much work you can do to help.  And all it takes is dedicated volunteers all over the world helping and DOING SOMETHING !!!  That’s it !!

And so you’ll find us in that National/International section -- AND this means no matter where in the world you are, you can give to Rikki’s Refuge to help us help the Animals of Planet Earth thru CFC, CVC and United Way. 

You just need to know a couple of numbers.  For CVC, Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign, our number is 3163.  And for CFC, Combined Federal Campaign, and United Way our number is 77674. 

Don’t forget you’ll see us listed as Life Unlimited of Virginia, Inc, tax id 54-1911042, Rikki’s Refuge.  And ALL funds donated thru CFC and CVC directly support the animals of Rikki’s Refuge !!!

Way cool, huh?



Christmas Day Tour
We had a wonderful November 10th Tour and Nature Hike.  I think Big Foote was following us up the hill on the nature hike .... I hid under mom’s jacket, but I think she got some pics !!!!   WOW those feet is big and that be real scary when you’re a little guy like me.

Our next public event is CHRISTMAS DAY and we’ll have a tour with the animals at NOON.  It’s all outside so if you don’t gotz the fur you better getz the long undies !!! 

RSVP is required so call 540-854-0870 x3 or email mail@RikkisRefuge.org  We need RESERVATIONS well in advance cuz we gots to order more porta potties - not to worry our hard earned donations aren’t going to pay for that - the volunteers who give the tours are going to chip in for it. 

Let me know TODAY if you’re coming, please !

And remember to bring us NUMS for Christmas Pressies !!!!  OK?



VOLUNTEERS
Oh my gosh!!!  The pumpkin hauling volunteers did a spectacular job this year !!!  You should see the piles of pumpkins ALL OVER RIKKI’S REFUGE and all the smiles on all the happy faces of those crazy critters munching down on the Pumpkins. 

In a recent poll, 20 out of 22 species of animals at Rikki’s Refuge said they preferred PUMPKINS to FANCY FEAST.  Can you imagine that?  Crazy animals !!!! 

The really good news is that all those pumpkins will save a lot of the feed bill and that means more money for Fancy Feast !!!  YES !!!

Thank you Pumpkin Haulers and Pumpkin Coordinators - You did GOOD - and you brought more pumpkins to Rikki’s Refuge than in any year, ever before !!!

If you missed out on the fun this year, sign up NOW to let me know to include you next October when we start planning.  Just let me know you want to be a Pumpkin Picker mail@RikkisRefuge.org


GOOD CLEAN FUN
And warm too.  This time of year lots of folks want to help out but they just can’t bare - being like naked with no fur and all - working outside and scrubbing down litterboxes in the outside hose when it’s like 38 degrees ... so we have some warm and heartwarming jobs for good volunteers.

Wrap at Barnes and Noble -- take a two hour shift -- wrap the gifts folks have bought and watch the donations for Rikki’s Refuge add up !!!!   A day of good wrapping, can bring in enough money to feed the animals for a day. 

And YOU can make that happen !

We’ll be wrapping at the following Virginia, USA locations - let the coordinator for that area know if YOU can help.
Falls Church - Paul Erhard paulcandy214@verizon.net
Charlottesville - Ron Herfurth topcat@cstone.net
Richmond - Gussee Lamoree gussee47@hotmail.com

I’ll get exact locations and dates and times published for you soon.


ALSO in Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania in Virginia, USA we’ll be running
Santa Paws at PetSmart and you can help.  Each shift needs three people.  The one who signs folks up, the one who runs the camera - it’s easy and it’s all supplied by PetSmart, and the one is IS Santa Paws !!!    Yes the suit, and if you need it, the padding, is all supplied.  All you have to do is sit there and listen to OUR Christmas wishes. 

Can you help out for a few hours?  Let Melissa Felts dogslife24@comcast.net know.  We desperately need help on a couple shifts right away so we don’t have to cancel our dates. 

Daddy, if you be Santa one day, I come sit on your lap !!!



OFFICE ANGELS
How’d you like to see YOUR NAME, your picture, your memorial to a loved one, in bright photo quality print, hanging on a sign at Rikki’s Refuge forever and ever?

Sound cool?  Stay tuned - I’ll tell you more about that in a day or two.



CHRISTMAS AUCTION
We’ve got a way cool and exciting Christmas Auction going on right now.  Really neat hand made gifts and ornaments.  Lots off cool thing, from silly little stocking stuffers to very nice and valuable gifts. 

You can find just what YOU want for Christmas and all the GIFTS for your family and friends here.

Check it out !




EAGLE SCOUT
Soon to be Eagle Scout, Kyle Newton, is doing his project for Rikki’s Refuge !!!    He called and asked if he could come out and meet the animals to see what he could do for his Eagle Scout project.  He looked around, and he patted some animals, and he fed some animals and he said THIS IS COOL !!!!!   I think I’d like to build some houses.   Since it was hard for him to get his scouts out to Rikki’s to work - we ARE kind of remote - he built the houses at his home. 

And TODAY at NOON he’ll be delivering them !!!  Just LOOK !!!  They’re HUGE !!!  This is gonna be so good!!!  The free range goats are going to be so happy !!!   And the Cats and the Dogs ... 

WOW mom and Lena have bent lots of time putting their heads together working out plans for where to put things.  They have this cool idea about a little colony near the 9th Life Center .....

Well you’ll have to wait to see how that all works out till I can get pics to you tomorrow !!!! 

I can’t wait !!!


KEY CLUB
LeAnn Beardsley has been bringing her Key Club group from Osbourn Park High in Prince William Virginia out to volunteer at Rikki’s for YEARS !!!!   She also brings scout groups.  And often the younger kids in the families tag alone and learn all about volunteering.  LeAnn started teaching about reaching out and helping the community and the animals at Rikki’s Refuge not long after we started.  So that means we’ve watched a lot of these kids grow up !!! 

Last month a group of graduates came out with the current Key Club kids .... they were lovely young ladies and gentlemen, now in college and becoming wonderful compassionate loving members of society !!!

And they’ll be here today too !!!

Yippee !!!  Hope I can get lots of photos for you !!!




BORDER FENCING
Keeping the poachers off is a never ending project during hunting season.  We’ve now gotten a few donated wildlife cameras mounted in some of the places they love to come on to our property.  Paws crossed we catch them red handed!!!  Chased a batch off yesterday, zooming across our property, on their ATVs and with black ski masks on.  I think that’s illegal, isn’t it??  To be hunting and trespassing and wearing a mask so you can’t be identified???  Hmmmm  Hopes we get some of them in jail this year !!! 

We’ll be working on some of the border fencing today too.  Want to help protect Rikki’s property, the woods, the wildlife?  Sign up for patrols mail@RikkisRefuge.org



Seez you later,
     I love you, Opie

PS: Please pray for my GreatGrandPa, he’s in the hospital, looking better, but I wants him to come home and feelz real good.


YOU can make it happen!!  Click to help me feed everybody at Rikki’s Refuge dinner !!!!