Tuesday, February 22, 2011
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.
Monday, February 21, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
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
.
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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