Fundraising - and FIVE more ways to help

Volunteers and supporters have been busy working away to help the cats and kittens of Woodland Nook this Christmas!

Last weekend shelter supporters had a stall in Alfreton and raised a wonderful £173.50 which was brilliant! However, to put this in perspective, that will feed the cats and heat the shelter for just under two weeks, so the fundraising efforts continue in earnest. It is a particularly good time of year for fundraising as people are feeling generous with the Christmas spirit. On the other hand, it’s not a great time for rehoming as Christmas is not a good time to introduce a pet into the family. Also, the shelter costs more to heat in winter!

Last night, supporters were out in force in Alfreton again, this time for the festive Lights Switch-on, offering pies and peas to hungry shoppers, courtesy of Marco’s fish and chip shop. What a wonderful way to support the shelter! We’ re still waiting for the final total...

Here are FIVE MORE WAYS you can help!

1. Join Easyfundraising

1. Sign up to Easyfundraising
This is a brilliant and FREE way of supporting Woodland Nook all year round. But it would be fantastic if you signed up NOW, while internet shopping is at the front of our minds in the run-up to Christmas! CLICK HERE for more details.

2. Come to our fund-raiser

2. Attend our next fund-raiser
This is on Sunday, 7th December, at Woodland Nook in the shelter itself. Come along and bring your wallets and purses as we’ll have lots of fun Christmassy gifts for you and your pets.

3. Buy a calendar...

3. Buy a Woodland Nook calendar
These are selling well and we only had a very limited supply printed, so don’t delay! The calendar features pictures of Woodland Nook cats and kittens, all taken by volunteers and chosen from dozens and dozens of entries. These high-quality A4 calendars are just £8, with all proceeds going to the shelter. CLICK HERE for more details, then contact Jane to order a copy, but hurry!

4. Wear your t-shirt with pride

4. Wear a Woodland Nook t-shirt
A great way to start the conversation about Woodland Nook and recruit more supporters! Wear your t-shirt with pride. CLICK HERE for more details, then contact Jane to order yours!

5. A Christmas present...

5. Buy a Christmas present for Woodland Nook
Have a friend or relative who already has everything they need? Tell them you’ve purchased a gift for Woodland Nook this Christmas instead. Or simply add us to your Christmas list and donate food, medicines or cat litter to ease our running costs. If everybody bought us a small gift of pouches, or a bag of cat litter, it will REALLY help us keep those winter bills under control! You can even order direct from Amazon and have your order sent straight to Woodland Nook, as these kind people did... and don’t forget to go through the Easy Fundraising website first, so that Woodland Nook gets a little extra donation, too!

So, lots of ideas there, hope you can help us this Christmas!

Easy and free way to raise funds for Woodland Nook

If you shop online there’s now an easy and free way for you to support Woodland Nook Cat Rescue. 

Through easyfundraising, every time you shop at selected online stores, a percentage of the amount spent will  be donated to Woodland Nook! Hundreds of popular retailers are participating including Amazon, M&S, Vodafone, eBay, Tesco, Viking and more than 3,000 others.

All you need to do is use the links provided on the easyfundraising site whenever you shop online. The retailer will then give Woodland Nook up to 15% of every purchase you make – it’s that simple! 

It doesn’t cost you a penny extra – and you can even save money as many retailers give exclusive discounts, special offers and even 'e-vouchers' exclusive to easyfundraising.

If you already shop online why not help raise extra funds for us by using this completely free service? Follow the instructions below to find out how.

Get started today!

   

1. Go to www.easyfundraising.org.uk/woodlandnookcatrescue and register for FREE!

2. Once you are registered, use the links on the easyfundraising site to go to your favourite online shops and shop in the usual way.

3. Every time you shop online, log on to www.easyfundraising.org.uk and use their links to visit your favourite shops.

Please encourage your friends and family to sign up too and raise even more money for Woodland Nook! 

For more information on the easyfundraising service please visit their 'Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)' page by clicking here. 

Loki ... all the way from Crete

All the way from Crete comes little Loki, who needs a very special home and a very special new family to share. Loki is about six months old and is partially sighted; he only has one eye, which has limited vision. But he copes very well and is very loving. He would love a new home, preferably with another young cat who will look out for him.

Loki is not well at the moment but Jane is nursing him back to health with a special diet. Watch this space for more news of this special little kitty.

Could YOU volunteer at Woodland Nook?

We are currently looking to recruit more volunteers to help at Woodland Nook. It's dirty work, and the pay is rubbish (ie, non-existent!) but it's a very rewarding job, as you'll get to meet some wonderful kitty characters and help them heal before going onto what will hopefully turn out to be their happy ever after. 

A typical shift involves feeding the cats, emptying litter trays, cleaning up any little accidents, reporting any issues in the diary, cleaning the shelter, emptying/filling the dishwasher/washing machine and, when all that’s done, you can stroke the cats and kittens as much as you like! 

Why not make volunteering your New Year's resolution? We are currently looking for help on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and can always use extra hands around holiday times. 

Take a look at what one of our volunteers has to say about her work... just click here. 

Ruby and Azazel

Continuing an ongoing black and white theme, Azazel and Ruby are the latest additions to Woodland Nook. They are brother and sister, aged five years. Poor Azazel has been stressed lately and pulling out his fur, but with a loving home, he should relax and soon be in tip-top condition again. The pair are very close friends and need to be rehomed together.

What’s another year?

A year is a long time when you’re a cat. And, sadly, it’s nearly a year since Kitty’s world was turned upside-down.

Kitty was a Woodland Nook cat back in 2009, when she was adopted by a lovely couple. They adored Kitty and looked after her well and, when one of her owners died, the other continued to care for her and give her all the love she could ever need.

But there was more sad news and Kitty’s owner died... on Christmas Day of all days.

Kitty was brought back to the safety of Woodland Nook, where she has been cared for ever since. She has food, shelter and some fuss, but she’s not the most approachable of cats. We believe this is because she is not comfortable having so many other cats around her and that she would calm down in a less busy environment. All she really wants is to live in a quiet home, with no other cats, just as she did until Christmas 2013.

What I find saddest of all is that we all hope our pets would be cared for if anything happened to us. And I can’t help feeling that the lovely couple who adored Kitty would be devastated to know she she’s still at Woodland Nook waiting for another family to love her.

Could you give Kitty a happier Christmas in 2014?

Tinka needs a home

Lovely Tinka is still looking for his forever home. He thought he’d found it a few weeks ago but it didn’t work out. Not that Tinka is a problem cat, far from it. He’s beautiful, friendly, has a very loud purr and extremely soft fur. He’s playful... in fact he’s a little boisterous at the moment but a trip to the vet this week should calm him down! He’s at that difficult age... 

But Tinka would make a wonderful family pet as he’s such a loving cat. Could you provide him the forever home he deserves?