October update

I'd like to thank our supporters for their kind messages of encouragement.  Having to start a waiting list was very discouraging and sometimes I wonder if there's enough interest to keep Project Maddie going.  The kind messages you've sent have given me hope.  I know what Project Maddie is doing is worthwhile and it means the world to me that you think so too.

Project Maddie doesn't receive any corporate sponsorship or government funding. Our only funds come directly from caring members of the community and go directly back in to the community.

I'd especially like to thank The Ark Spaw and Pet Emporium in Oakville for making a generous donation of premium dog and cat food.  This food will see us through for some time, as long as we continue to get monetary donations to cover necessary operating expenses and transportation costs to get this much needed food to the families who are counting on our assistance.

We are still reviewing candidates for our Board of Directors.  We need a Board of Directors in place to move forward with our Canada Revenue Agency application for Charitable Status.  Project Maddie also needs volunteers!  We need help with outreach, marketing, fundraising, and much more!

I've said it before but it's worth repeating:  It takes a village.  The more people we have involved the better Project Maddie will be - I'm starting to believe it can surpass my wildest expectations.  My dream is to take Project Maddie Ontario-wide so that we can keep people and pets together not just in the GTA, but from Thunder Bay to Ottawa to Windsor and anywhere in between.  It will take donations, creativity, and volunteer hours but I promise it will be more worthwhile and satisfying than you can imagine. Together we can keep more people and pets together.  Will you join us in making that dream a reality?

Success Story

Earlier this year we held a Facebook contest asking you, our friends and supporters, what you want to see on our blog. The winning idea was stories about people Project Maddie has assisted. Details that can identify the pet owner have been omitted to protect her privacy:

Good morning,

I found your charity on the Internet, obviously. I don't know if you are still going, after all the help you gave to the people in the apartment fire in Toronto. That was amazing the way you jumped in to help!! I'm sure the pet owners there were so very grateful!!

I have lost my job, again. I just got it and I guess the owner changed his mind and decided he didn't need help. He wouldn't give me a reason, even though I asked 4 times. Anyway, I have 4 cats, two of them were my mum's which I kept when she passed away. I couldn't see them go anywhere else but with me. I am in need of food for them and litter as well. I have been giving up a lot of my food to buy food for them, but it is taking a toll on my health, I'm diabetic. I still do it anyway. I don't know if you can help me out, but I would sure appreciate anything you may be able to do. I have tried the Humane Society, but they say they can never guarantee they will have anything, or what they will have on any given day. I even asked if I could call on a day I was thinking of coming down, they said no, since the staff do not have time to check things like that. I couldn't believe it. I just can't afford to spend the transit money to get down there and find they have nothing. I may as well set a match to $5.

Thank you for your time. Sorry to bend your ear so far. Have a great long weekend and thank you so much for what you have done, and continue, I hope, to do for our furry loved ones!! You make a huge difference in so many lives, you enable people to keep their pets, instead of having to give them up. They do make a huge difference in our lives in more ways than many humans do!!

Cheers
(name of client)
North York


show details May 25

Hi Kim,

Sorry to be so late getting back to you. Thank you sooooo much for all the wonderful food you gave me for my kitties!! I was just blown away by your generosity! I've opened some of the crunchies hoping they will like them. I put 4 different ones out in different bowls. So we'll see what happens. Basically I told them, and they listened of course....not.... that they will have to eat it even if they don't like it, or starve....;-) And thank you too for the large bag of the Purina hairball control, and the case of the Friskies.

I really enjoyed meeting (name of volunteer). I chewed her ear off, poor thing. But being at home and on the computer all day looking for work, I don't get to talk to many people, so when someone comes by, I yap. I hope I didn't drive her too nuts!

Thank you so much again Kim. God willing, if I am lucky enough to find a job before I loose my apartment, I will make a donation to help you guys out. And I'm going to mention your organization to my friends as well. They may be willing to help out as well. Where can they send donations?

Have a wonderful rest of the week. My kitties and I are very thankful for you, your volunteers and your huge hearts!!

Cheers
(name of client)


This client's cats are not only beloved companions, two of them are living, breathing connections to her mother. Thanks to Project Maddie's supporters she didn't have to part with her precious kitties, although she is on our waiting list because she still needs assistance.

Sometimes it's the people who help us at our lowest points that we never forget, and those kindnesses we carry in our hearts, even if we don't know the names of the people who made it possible. In many ways your support changed a life.

We're still here!

Just a quick note to say hello and give you some updates.

I changed internet providers so I was without service for a bit. I will do my best to update the blog more often. Please note with the change of internet providers the projectmaddie@cogeco.ca address is no longer active.

As some of you know it has been a discouraging couple of months as we've had to implement a waiting list for the first time ever.

Thanksgiving was especially disappointing but I'm not giving up. As long as there are families and pets that need Project Maddie's help to stay together I will fight tooth and nail to keep Project Maddie going.

I still believe there is a need for our service to keep pets at home where they are loved and wanted and secure, and out of crowded shelters where they will be sad, lonely and confused. Finances should not tear pets and the people who love and cherish them apart. Although we have a waiting list we are still accepting referrals to add to the list. One thing I've learned since starting Project Maddie is things can change any time.

My hope is to give vulnerable pet owners the greatest gift for the holidays - care for their precious companions. If their pets are provided for they can stop worrying about whether or not they can keep them, and stop having to choose between feeding their pets and feeding themselves.

Please note that there have been some changes to our contact information:

Our phone number remains unchanged: 905 749 0063

E-mail address: projectmaddie at gmail dot com

Address: Our food bank does not have a physical location for drop offs and pick ups, please e-mail for mailing address

Blessings from our furkids to yours,

Project Maddie

Important information about e-mail

Hi Friends!

The projectmaddie gmail e-mail account has been de-activated. I tried to set Project Maddie up on Google+ and a date of birth was required. Rather than use my own date of birth I used the date for Project Maddie’s inception (April 2010). Apparently Google users must be at least 13 years old so Google deleted the entire account, including the e-mail account. This is going to have a really negative impact on Project Maddie because all of the e-mails we’ve received and our entire address book cannot be accessed.

Our altnernate e-mail address is projectmaddie at cogeco dot ca and I've update our facebook page as well. I’m concerned that people who need our assistance will try to contact the gmail address so if you are referring anyone to Project Maddie please refer them to the cogeco e-mail address. The other concern is that we’re going to lose much needed donations. For the first time ever we have a waiting list for pet owners whose situations are truly dire. We depend entirely upon donations which are usually made by e-mail transfers. As you may know we lost our post office box because we didn’t have the finances to renew the rental agreement. I’ve sent google a message asking for the e-mail account to be restored. I’ll keep you posted, in the meantime please use the cogeco e-mail address. Our phone number remains the same: 905 749 0063. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience.

On the bright side we have some great things brewing and hope to be making some exciting announcements with respect to our Board of Directors, outreach program, and a brand new program that will help us keep even more people and pets together. I won't say any more right now because I'm afraid I'll spill the beans, but here is a hint: Good things come to those who sit. I mean wait.

Hope you're having a wonderful summer. Please remember a hot car is no place for a best friend.

Summer update

Hello friends! Just wanted to give you a quick update. We're still working on building our Board of Directors so that we can continue with our CRA application. Now that summer is here it's a bit more challenging to connect with the people who have expressed an interest because of vacations, people being out of town, etc.

Currently there is a waiting list for people who need our assistance. In the past we've prided ourselves on not turning anyone away, and of course that is always our goal. At this time we don't have the resources to assist everyone who needs our help because donations are sporadic at best. We are hoping that this is a summer phenomenon. We do our absolute best and in the past have compromised our own financial security to keep Project Maddie running. We can't jeoporadize our own homes or the welfare of our own furkids so this is no longer an option.

Unfortunately our rent came due on the Post Office Box we were using and we weren't able to renew it due to lack of resources. If you would like to send us something by mail please e-mail projectmaddie at gmail dot com for a temporary alternate mailing address.

If you contact Project Maddie for assistance by telephone PLEASE leave us a phone number that has voicemail or an alternate way to contact you. We will do our best to assist you right away and we do respond to every message and e-mail. If you don't have voicemail you won't know that we tried to get back to you.

Please remember your furkids should not be left in cars for any length of time when it's hot outside. Wishing you and your furkids a safe and happy summer!

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Spring update

After numerous false starts spring is finally here! We've persevered through late winter storms, wind storms, and seemingly endless rain to be rewarded with shining sun, the smell of fresh-cut grass, tree blossoms, baby robins, and the other countless joys that usher in a season of renewal, revival, and growth.

Project Maddie has experienced some set backs lately. What has gotten us through is the continued support of two monthly donors, Flirt Custom Lash (you can visit them at http://flirtcustomlash.com/) and a private donor. There is still a shortfall between incoming donations and monthly expenses but we wouldn't have made it this far without them. Sommer and Robert, thank you!

There are many things that go in to keeping Project Maddie up and running and able to assist a family whenever and wherever assistance is needed, often at the drop of a hat. People don't plan for crises in their lives, they often happen without warning, and we need to be there to help. By the time people seek assistance their situations have usually already reached a critical point. A week for you or I is just a week. For a petowner in need it's 7 days of choosing to feed their pets instead of themselves (this has been the case of the families we've assisted without exception). It's 7 days of someone having an empty stomach. So when someone reaches out to us we need to be able to respond quickly - within 24 hours if possible .

Unfortunately a few of our recent setbacks are impacting our ability to respond to requests for assistance in a timely manner.

1. Transportation: The only vehicle currently available to pick up and drop off food has been the 2000 Mazda Protege you may have read about in the Toronto Star article. The alternator on the vehicle is now shot making it literally unsafe to drive. Transportation expenses have significantly increased over the past few months, particularly gas prices.

How you can help: If you know of a good mechanic in the Oakville area that may be willing to give discounted labour rates to help us continue our work please let us know. We'd happily thank the mechanic or shop on this blog. You can also donate gas cards (however a Canada Post strike is looming so any mail sent to our post office box may not be delivered until the strike is over). Any donations made toward our transporation expenses will only be used for transportation. We are also looking for volunteer drivers in the GTA until our vehicle can be repaired - this may be a couple of weeks.

2. People. We need people! We held a modestly attended volunteer orientation/information session in Toronto in the new year. Since then we've lost the other member of our executive team due to scheduling conflicts with work. Elysa's passion for and contributions to Project Maddie were invaluable. Please join me in thanking Elysa, congratulating her for her promotion at work, and wishing her the very best. She's an amazing woman and there will always be a place for her at Project Maddie.

We need volunteers to drive, fundraise, spread the word, assist our clients, and attend special events. It's critical for Project Maddie to have a strong, stable executive so we can submit our application to the CRA for registered charity status.

How you can help: If you're interested in getting involved with Project Maddie please contact us. If you have the time and motivation to join the executive team please send a resume highlighting your unique strengths, skills, and experiences, and how they can tie in to Project Maddie.

3. Donations. We're still experiencing a monthly shortfall. Even a one time donation is incredibly helpful, no amount is too small.

None of these challenges are insurmountable. Project Maddie will persevere because what we do is more than worthwhile: it keeps people and pets together and it saves lives. I know Project Maddie's "spring" is just around the corner. I hope you'll be part of it. It's more rewarding than I can say.

PayPal is here!

You can support Project Maddie via credit card donation or your PayPal account by clicking on the "Donate" button at the top right side of our page. We thank all of our supporters, without you our work would not be possible.

Blog Contest!

We've been hard at work improving our blog so that important information is organized in a more accessible way, and we're not done yet!

We want our blog to be a great resource for pet owners so we're asking what would you like to see included in our blog?

The prize is a reusable Project Maddie bag and a pen - both eco-friendly!  If you're already a fan on Facebook mosey on over to make your suggestion or vote for your favourite idea by "liking" the comment. If you aren't on Facebook you can leave your suggestion in the comments below and we will post it in the Facebook comments for you.

Contest closes Monday, February 28 at 8:00PM.  Good luck to all and thank you so much for your input.

Information Session and Volunteer Orientation debrief

Thanks to everyone who attended our Information Session and Volunteer Orientation on Saturday, January 29. It was important to us to hold this meeting to give people a chance to meet face to face, ask any questions they have about Project Maddie (our screening processes, where we get our food, anything people have wondered about but haven't had a chance to ask!). Attendees also had an opportunity to hear about some of our present initiatives, challenges, and our plans for moving forward in 2011. Best of all they had the opportunity to get involved by offering ideas and even coming on board as volunteers!

If you were unable to attend here are the key points we talked about:

1. Confidentiality

We discussed the importance of keeping information in confidence due to the nature of the work we do, and all volunteers sign a confidentiality agreement stating they will not share or disclose any personal information about the people we serve, other volunteers, or our donors. All personal information we receive is kept in absolute confidence. If you make a donation and wish to remain anonymous, if you require assistance from Project Maddie, or if you come on board as a volunteer we do not share your name or contact information with anyone outside of Project Maddie - EVER - unless you explicitly ask us to (ie. a volunteer may request a letter of recommendation).

Sometimes we receive support from businesses. That support may be a substantial food donation, ongoing monthly donations to assist with our operations costs, or proceeds from a sale of a certain product. We think it's important to publicly acknowledge our gratitude for this support and you will see these businesses mentioned on our Facebook page, Blog, or website.

2. Outreach

Outreach is critical to make sure the people who need our assistance are aware of Project Maddie. We have a presence on the internet and an active Facebook page, however seniors and people on long term disability may not have access to the internet. A graphic designer has created a beautiful poster that can be handed out and posted, however the poster is geared towards generating donations (which we always need). Another poster is in the works that is geared towards people who need our assistance. Some suggestions for places to post them include food banks, second-hand shops, and churches. The more volunteers we have distributing and posting the posters (8x11) the more effective our outreach campaign will be.

If you haven't already joined our Facebook fanpage please do, and don't forget to invite your fellow animal lovers :) Word of mouth and social networking are both great outreach tools that don't cost a thing.

3. Registered Charity Status

We are still actively working on our application for the CRA. We have hit a bit of a road bump because we are at the point Project Maddie needs to become a legal entity (one way to do this is to incorporate, but we need legal counsel to determine the best way to go about it and file the paperwork). We need a lawyer for this process and we do not have the funds to retain one.

4.Where do we go from here?

Our goal is to offer assistance to pet owners in financial crisis anywhere in Ontario. It's not feasible to do that when all of our food is in Oakville. If we can raise more money to purchase food and get some retailers on board our vision is pay for food via credit card and then have the client pick it up from a local retailer. Another idea is to have "sattelite" locations where people can drop off or pick up food, but more often than not food for clients outside the GTA will need to be purchased.

5.It Takes a Village

Everyone has something unique and special to offer, whether it's a skill, an area of expertise, or a great idea. If you want to get involved we want to hear from you!

If you have any questions or feedback you can either sound off below, contact us via Facebook (search for Project Maddie to join the fanpage) or by e-mail projectmaddie at gmail dot com


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Calling all volunteers!

2010 ended on a very positive note for Project Maddie.  Since its inception in April Project Maddie struggled to stay afloat until a catastrophic fire in September completely depleted our resources.  The Toronto Star published an article about Project Maddie's situation and the response was tremendous.

A number of people came forward offering their time and energy.  As we ring in 2011 we have plans for growth and even bigger plans for outreach.  Many of the people Project Maddie aims to assist (seniors, persons with permanent disabilities) are on fixed incomes and do not have access to the internet. If we are going to help these pet owners we need to be out in the community and we need your help!

We will be organizing an informal gathering one Saturday afternoon, likely mid-January for potential volunteers.  This is an opportunity for you to learn more about the Project, and ask any questions you may have about our screening process, our day to day operations and the types of volunteer opportunities that will be available as we move forward in 2011. From there you can decide which opportunities you are interested in and determine your own level of involvement.

We will announce the date, time and location asap.  If this is something that interests you please don't hesitate to e-mail projectmaddie at gmail dot come, leave a message on our Facebook page, or call at 905/749 0063.

We wish you an abundance of unexpected blessings and endless possibilities for joy in 2011!