Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Thank You. For Your Donation




We thank you very much for your donation. With out you their will be no Puffy Paws Kitty Haven.

Every time you donate you are giving the gift of life for the kitties.

Please accept this as our personal thank you at this time.

We are very sorry at this time as it is almost impossible to send out a personal thank you to each and ever donor. It is basically my wife and I running the daily operation of Puffy Paws Kitty Haven.

Let me fill you in on the details.

The very sad fact of the matter is that it's has been my wife and I taking care of the kitties by ourselves for a very long time.

On May 1st, 2011. The Englewood Sun Herald published a letter to the Editor in which I wrote begging for help from our community.



_______________________________________________________________

Editor

My wife and I are only two people running Englewood, Florida's "World's Greatest Cathouse." Puffy Paws Kitty Haven is a 501(c) (3) non-profit, no-kill cat hospice & rescue specializing in providing quality and loving care to special needs cats; we have 100 adoptable kitties that need homes.

Our current help consists of a few volunteers and the court ordered Community Service Personnel. These people are folks who got into trouble and are trying to pay their debts to society.

We have been begging this community for help for years with adoptions , PR, and fund-raising events.

We finally have a handful of volunteers who put on a monthly adoption event but that is not enough; we need more people.

While the Humane Society and other rescue groups in the area enjoy paid employees and a host of volunteers, we do not.

We do not get paid; 100% of all donation goes to the kitties and the operating expenses. Are books are open to the public.

It Cost Over $11,000 a month to run Puffy Paws Kitty Haven.

Operating Expenses
http://www.puffypawskittyhaven.com/id353.html

In 2012 I raised $144,000 by myself, just by asking for help and $125,000 of that came from kitty lovers from around the world donating through PayPal.&  Network for Good.

The very sad reality is that the only ones who suffered were the community cats that we could not help because we could not take them in and find homes.

You can change all of this by volunteering your time.
For more information call 941-623-8904 or go to our website.

Rick Kingston
Co-Founder
Puffy Paws Kitty Haven

____________________________________________________________ 



My wife and I takes care of the special need & unwanted kitties together.

We still have to work 15  hours day because Sarasota Code Enforcement banned all traffic at the Haven.

CLICK  HERE - To Read The Story As Seen In The Englewod Edge



Chrissy and I hauls  in 360 pounds of cat litter in the Haven daily & takes it back out. We wash over 20 cat litter boxes daily. Every four hours the kitties are feed at 10 feeding stations, We vacuum & mop and dust daily. Chrissy  gives out meds. We groom the kitties. We tends to the sick ones. She runs to the Vet and the store for supplies too. We put on a 'Live' show on USTREAM  every Sunday @ 10pm to get the adoptable kitties home. We do this this day in and day out. She does the work of a paid staff of 10.

My job is to raise the $225 dollars a day to take care of the kitties daily needs, plus the operating expensive of $3,00 a month, and vet care of $2,000 a month , every single day.

On most days I work up to 15 hours a day to accomplish this.

In addition to helping Chrissy with the kitties. I run the Collectable Shop. I raise funds on-line. I run to the Vet.. I'm our Web Master. I do all the graphic art work. I update on fb everyday. I pick up the kitties daily supplies in the evening. I pay the bills. I put out the SOS's for help.I put out all the fires that pop out daily. I'm my wife's venting post. I'm the fixer.




I’m in a fight for the kitties lives. If I fail at raising the funds needed to take care of the 200 kitties under our care there will be no other option but to close down. What choice would we have ?

A whole Cat Hospice will be wiped out and only painful and sad stories will be told because I could not round up the World Wide awareness and financial help these beautiful cats deserve.

It’s not fair but life is not.

When people  want to volunteer and find out that they can not help with the kitties at the Haven because of the ban,  they do not want to help out in other areas and move on but we do need folks to help us with the thank you letters and emails. But it is not happening right now.

My wife and I do not get paid in what we do
.
100%  of all donations goes right to operating Puffy Paws Kitty Haven.

We have improvised., adapted and overcame these human obsoletes by telling the truth of our situation.

This is why we had to take our story Nation Wide a few years back and now World Wide

With out  your support we could not do what we do and we will always be eternally grateful.

When we received a donation on-line  it is my job to safe guard all the personal information that is sent.

Puffy Paws Kitty Haven does not store, nor does it have access to, your credit card information, bank account numbers, or other account data sent through Pay Pal.

So the burden falls on me. This is very time consuming in sending out  a personal thank you for  each donations received. It evolves many hours in gathering the emails from Pay Pal to send out a personal thank you.

I have a tremendous amount of  guilt every single day because I do not have the time to send out a personal thank you for each donation received because I’m trying to keep the doors open.

And for this I'm sorry.

One day I will get help in other areas so I may send out personal a 'Thank You".

But until that day comes , please know that we appreciated and are very grateful for every single donation that you send in to help the kitties.

We can not do it with out you.

Sadly enough time is my enemy.

I only have certain amount of time to raise the funds daily to keep the doors open at Puffy Paws and I hate this fact.

I pray for your understanding and forgiveness if I offended  any one.

Rick Kingston

27 comments:

  1. Bless you for all you do.I hope and pray you get the things you need to carry on.
    I wish you were here in Texas I would love to help on a daily basis.
    God bless, Jennifer Newman

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  2. May God watch over Puffy Paws and provide for all the kitties.
    God bless you and your wife for all you do to save these special kitties. There is a special place in heaven for someone who cares so much for God's creatures as you and your wife do.
    Angela VanCleve

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  4. I donated a few dollars several months ago, but never heard back, no word of thanks for my donation.
    I know it wasn't any big amount, but I felt I at least deserved an acknowledgement for my gift sent a total stranger, and as far away as can get from me here in Oregon.
    I keep receiving your pleas for help, and see you're having a hard time, a little overwhelmed at times due to lack of funding coming in on regular basis and your constant battle with keeping enough money coming in.

    Tonight, I took the time to read through your website and now I understand WHY I was never thanked.
    I don't want to add to your pain as I understand it takes a kind hearted, caring and giving person to do what all you do.

    Now that I've read what you wrote here, I understand but you need to know how others may feel...perhaps they, like me, just ignore your cries/pleas for help....
    Perhaps had I heard back, I might may have answered your please for help instead of ignoring every emails..

    I really feel this may be hurting you financially and MUST so you MUST find a way to thank people.

    I hope I've not caused you upset by what I've written here, but I want to help, see you succeed and continue doing what you're doing.
    We understand this completely, as we seem to be suckers for helping all the unwanted cats they drop off on our property...they see we have nice home and a barn on few acres...so they think is now OUR job to take care of their unwanted animals.
    Is sad and is only going to get worse as our economy fails...we ain't seen nuthin yet!
    I have some other ideas that may help you get more donations AND for your getting food at cost or donations.
    Our church helps feed homeless people and they get tons of free food...I'll bet you can get cat food companies to donate to your cause as well.
    These companies need tax write offs, as do a lot of folks There's got to be a way!...just ask! all can do is say YES...or no!
    God Bless you both for what you're doing and I pray i've not offended or upset you...
    I felt you needed to know how others may feel, as I felt and why I never sent another donation...how many of us out there feel same?
    blessings
    Cheryl Young, Eagle Creek, Oregon

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    1. I received a thank you immediately. Maybe you didn't create an account an sign in.

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  5. No problem at all. You are absolutely right. I just moved the thank you page to the top of our web site so that all may see.

    And I will be putting the thank you page link in key spots on the web site.

    We use constant contact to send out the SOS emails and it will behoove us if I send out this page with a link each time I send out a email SOS.

    Feel free to call me at anytime 941-623-8904.

    I will love to chat.

    Rick

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  6. i completely understand both sides. i give to multiple charities each month and am almost never acknowledged. but then, i begin to think of how impossible it would be for any charity to write personal thank you's to hundreds or thousands of people. it's just not a reasonable expectation. so, i hope others will continue to give just because it's the right thing to do and it makes the world a better place.

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    1. I agree with Catherine. Anyone who stops donating because they did not receive a personal thank you is being totally unreasonable. Do you not realize how much they have on their plates? And what if those $250-300 worth of daily donations came in $2-10 at a time? How many thank you notes would that be? How much time that could be devoted to the cats do you think would that take? Please do not let the lack of a personal thank you stop you from donating to Puffy Paws!

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  7. God bless you both for all you do...I just donated a little- I will try to donate again...We love you both for the wonderful folks you are...God bless you both and the kitties.
    Gina Barrett, Cyprus

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  8. Kat

    Thank you so very much..Mad Kitty Love to you ..

    Rick

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  9. I don't want to be personally thanked. You are one of three I try to help and hope to be able to send more, or via the Amazon wishlist. Thank you for all you do.

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    1. I feel so happy in my heart , not because you and your wife are having a unbelievably hard time doing a job that saves these babies but because you are doing this job saving these babies ! ♡

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  10. Chrissy & Rick: NO! THANK YOU for all you do daily for all those poor unfortunate and unwanted kitties! I have an inkling of what you go through since I have a friend who runs a 501k shelter for cats and I was one of those people who took in every stray cat (& sometimes dog) my whole life and it eventually caused me to lose my home and even my home county. It is hard, physically, and emotionally as daily you struggle with the needs of the household, living hand to mouth, authorities on your back every minute. If just one cat gets turned away and euthanized your heart breaks. Please know that all of the cat lovers out here that are aware of Puffy Paws truly appreciate all that you do and even though we may not be able to donate as often as we like, you are in our thoughts and prayers.

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    1. Typo correction above 501(c)shelter. sorry folks. There must be a way to edit AFTER entering Publish - but I don't know it.

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  11. Thank YOU for all you do. I just found out about Puffy Paws Kitty Haven and I am a new donor/friend of yours. I will do whatever I can, whenever I can. I can only imagine how many obstacles you find on your way every day. Please never give up, my admiration for you both and what you do is endless. Gives me tears of joy to my eyes reading about what you do and seing all the beautiful kitties pictures. Thank you, thank you, thank you and God bless you always.

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  12. Thank you for all you do for the kitties in need! Hopefully my small donation will be of some help to you! You are truly a blessing!

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  13. Sent a little money. Paypal 2CJ53626AM406290N. Completley understand what you two are going through, wish I could send more. Don't need a reply, just wish you the best, and will send more when I can.

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  14. I hope this wonderful sanctuary for the unwanted knows about Indiegogo site to raise money. Its effective. I cannot find a contact us link on this site. If anyone knows how to get in touch direct, please inform them.

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  15. Being a cat lady, when I saw a post on fb about you, I went to check out your site to determine if I trust that you're truly devoted to your cause.. Well, I've decided you are and intend to become a monthly contributor.. I will also spread the word to all my awesome animal activist friends, in the hopes of getting some of them to do the same.. I've perused your pages and No, I don't need a personal thank you!! I don't do this for that purpose.. Furthermore, I completely understand WHY you do not have time for such mollycoddle.. That would infringe on time put to better use; taking care of the cats!! IMHO, when a person requires that kind of acknowledgement, they are about something other than the cause!! Thank you both for giving so much of yourselves to those furbabies in need <3

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    1. I agree! No thank you notes- don't waste $ on stamps or volunteer time writing notes. Amen

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  16. Thank you all for your kinds words and support.

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  17. Glad to help in the name of my two rescued kitties: Danger-cat and Rocket-kitty. They're a part of my life because someone cared enough to rescue them when they were found abandoned in a parking lot, next to a garbage dumpster.

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  18. Im committing to 'adopt' a cat by providing $5 a week to help feed them. Dont ever take time away from the cats to write me a thank you! My thanks is knowing that you save so many deserving cats who would otherwise be killed! God bless you! Thanks for all you do! From your friend in California-Marti Bolig

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Here is my first donation : Receipt number:4616-4158-6187-0101
      oops had to delete my email address :-)

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  19. I have donated twice just this week, cuz I'm appalled at the fact you hadn't gotten enuff donations to feed those precious souls!!! Have also donated in the past, and will donate in the future as I am able to. I'm unemployed, but I just can't see these precious kitties get cheated out of having a loving place to call home for the rest of their lives! God bless you for the work you do and the love and care you give.... the world needs ALOT more people like you two!!!

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