HARMONY  HAVEN  UPDATE SUMMER  2007

Lance, a beautiful tabby, came to us as a kitten in the spring of 2002.  He was abandoned along with his mother and siblings.  He is very social and loving and became a favorite at the shelter.  During his stay he became particularly fond of two ISU students who were among or most faithful volunteers.  The students returned his affection and always gave him lots of "together time".  This summer a wedding is planned and Lance decided he would be the purrfect wedding gift for his two special friends.  Lance is now with his new family and we wish all three much happiness.

Harmony Haven was very pleasantly surprised when Erika Funkhouser had her 5th birthday party and asked all her friends to bring gifts for the animals in lieu of personal gifts.  How amazing that a 5-year-old would be so selfless.  Erika and those like her will make the future a much better place for animals.

The Dixie Bee Elementary School held a fundraiser involving all students.  It was very successful and they presented Harmony Haven with a very generous check that will help many animals.

Once again Caroline Bradley and her Rio Grande students collected animal supplies and pull-tabs.  Caroline is teaching her young students the value of service projects. 

We have approximately 125 animal residents.  So we are particularly grateful for the pet food donations from individuals and from businesses.  Baesler's Market and the Wal-Mart stores have been very generous.

We continue our partnership with the Purina Very Best Pet Network through the Marshall and Terre Haute Wal-Marts. 

We continue to deeply appreciate the ongoing support of PETCO and the opportunities they provide for us to promote adoptions by bringing our cats and dogs to the store on the week-ends.

As we have just reached our 6th year anniversary in operation, it has taken a great deal of effort to become better known for the good work we do for animals and for the services we provide to the community.  Recently we have received more support from businesses and individuals who also believe a no-kill shelter for homeless animals is a very worthy cause and a valuable asset to Vigo County.  We deeply appreciate the fundraisers and donations at the local level since we are also a grass roots organization. 

Harmony Haven is not a United Way charity, receives no tax dollars or government assistance, maintains no contracts with city/county government for animal control services, and is not affiliated with any national organization.  We are a 501c3 non-profit and contributions are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.  Our operation depends on fund-raisers, contributions, and memberships.  Donations are always welcome and appreciated.

Harmony Haven Board Members have met twice with a coalition including Project Hope and other local animal groups with the purpose of investigating a collaborative effort for a Maddies Fund Grant and other possible grant sources.  The group also discussed the serious problem of animal overpopulation.  There are several options for help with spay/neuter.

The following information regarding Project Hope was published in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star on July 6, 2007:
"Project HOPE, which stands for "Halting the Overpopulation of Pets without Euthanasia," continues to register low-income county residents to spay or neuter their pets at no cost to the pets' owners.  People need to have a Hoosier Works, Medicaid, or WIC card to prove eligibility, and photo identification that proves Vigo County residence.
People can register from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday in the main branch of the Vigo County Public Library, and from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every Thursday at the Salvation Army Headquarters at 234 South Eighth Street."

For people who do not qualify for the above program, there are two other possible sources of assistance through the "Pets Alive" monthly program or $30 vouchers to reduce the cost of a spay/neuter by a local vet.  For information and details on these two programs, call Susan at (812) 514-8520. 

If you know anyone who could benefit from any of these programs to reduce the severe animal overpopulation problem, please pass along this information.

We are so grateful to the people who support us through volunteering, gifts, donations, and memorials.  However, because many people are sensitive about having their names on the internet, we have chosen to include names only in the mailed copies of our newsletters.

The kindness and generosity of all who give to Harmony Haven makes lives better for the animals in our care.

Since we do not receive any tax dollars from the city or the county, donations (tax-deductible) are always most welcome! 

In June, President Sue Reel gave a presentation to the Kiwanis Club of Greater Terre Haute.  Many of the members were not familiar with the Harmony Haven purpose and programs.  Since the Kiwanis members are very dedicated to service, they were very receptive to our community out-reach effort.  We appreciate the opportunity to spend time with such a gracious group.

We continue to promote adoptions by taking animals to various locations in the community.

We have been using our network of rescue/transport contacts to relocate animals to safe locations where the opportunity for adoption is much higher.  We verify references for any rescue/transport group with which we work; they normally have 501c3 non-profit status.

Adoptions continue at a fairly steady rate.  We do have a large supply of healthy socialized cats.  You can help promote cat adoptions by recommending Harmony Haven to those who may be interested in adopting. 

We continue to collect aluminum cans, ink cartridges (except Epson) and cell phones to recycle for fund raising.

Our wish list also includes canned dog and cat food, scoopable litter, paper towels, Pine-Sol, bleach, laundry detergent, Febreze, peroxide, alcohol, mineral oil, baking soda, and litter deodorant.

Membership includes Harmony Haven newsletter.  Please feel free to copy the membership application.  Please return with payment to:  Harmony Haven, P O Box 3305, Terre Haute, IN  47803-0305

Click Here for the Membership Application Form.

ARCHIVE OF PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS and UPDATES

Click Here to view Update - Spring - 2007

Click Here to view Update - October-December - 2006