A
small sampling of the thousands of heart-touching valentines
created by schoolchildren/groups in 2010 for the chained and penned
dogs. (Please note, we are requesting Valentines be no larger than 4"x8.5" in order to fit in mailing envelopes...bigger Valentines are hard to mail! Or, feel free to send envelopes to fit your size of valentine.)
Media Release, Posted on 1/7/11 Group asks students to create 17,000
valentines for chained dogs Seeks Elementary School Students, Clubs, Groups, and
Individuals to Make Valentines for Delivery to Chained Dogs Nationwide more... more...
Is
Your Dog the Love of Your Life?
Help Us Make Other Dogs as Lucky
During our Have a Heart for Chained Dogs
2011 Valentine Campaign
Join
us February 7-14th for Have a Heart for
Chained Dogs Week.
OUR GOAL in our 9th Season is to SEND OUT 17,000 VALENTINES TO CHAINED
or PENNED DOGS.
We
are striving to raise awareness for chained and penned dogs in a
positive way...by delivering Valentines, a brochure and a treat
coupon to dogs living outside all over the U.S. and into other
countries where we have representation, such as Canada and England.
Here's
where you come in:
1.
Make Valentines.Teachers, Students, Scout
Leaders, Group Leaders, Individuals please make Valentines! Please note: Sizes should be no biggern than 4"x8.5" so they can fit in a mailing envelope. We're asking you
to stress quality over quantity this year...we'd rather have 17,000
awesome valentines that REALLY hit home with dog caretakers.
To see what others have done, see the link above. The valentines
can say anything along the lines of 'Bring us into the home and
family.' Mail them to us by February 5th at P.O. Box 23,
Tipton, PA 16684.
2.
Mail Coupons for Free or Reduced Cost Treats or Dogfood. Last year we did not have enough treat coupons to fill all
the Valentines. Can you help us out this year by mailing
any and all treat or dogfood coupons you have to us at P.O. Box
23, Tipton, PA 16684?
3.
Send addresses for Chained or Penned Dogs.This
is so CRUCIAL! Please, take the time to find out the address
of that chained or penned dog near you, even though it
takes a little time...To
make our goal, we need to mail at least 17,000 Valentines.
Send addresses via mail, call
877.636.1408 to report addresses, e-mail
them to info@dogsdeservebetter.org.
or fill out the form, below (preferred). You remain anonymous!
(Important Note:
this form does not give you a thank you, but is designed to automatically reset to this page for those with multiple addresses...don't worry, the
addresses are coming through fine, please don't resubmit.)
4.
Sponsor Valentines.The cost of
this campaign is quite high, due to material and mailing
fees, but it is well-worth it! You may either
sponsor Valentines for addresses you provide, or sponsor
Valentines for others who provide us with addresses. Sponsor your
Valentines below.
In
2010 we delivered almost 15,000 Valentines to dogs worldwide!
“Winter is the best time to reach out to those who chain and pen their dogs, and what better excuse than Valentine’s Day to send these forgotten animals a little love,” says Tamira Thayne, founder and director of the eight-year-old non-profit. “Every winter our rescuers see dogs that have frozen in the snow, suffered frostbite, or otherwise endured horrific living conditions because of the longstanding misperception that it is ok to chain a dog outside in any kind of weather.”
“This is the perfect opportunity for people who pass chained or penned dogs every day but feel powerless to help them to make a difference,” continues Thayne. “People can anonymously provide us with the addresses of these dogs, or make us a batch of Valentines, and we'll do the rest.”
The creation of the Valentines is an ideal project for schools, scouting troops, and other similar organizations. “Children have a natural affinity for animals and they enjoy making art projects,” says Thayne, an artist herself. "In this way we remind children of proper caretaking, and educate guardians as well."
Valentines
are needed at the Dogs Deserve Better headquarters in Tipton, PA
by February 5th. The group is also seeking coupons for
free or low-cost dog treats to include with their packets. To participate
by creating Valentines or mailing coupons, send them to P.O. Box
23, Tipton, PA 16684. Interested parties may e-mail info@dogsdeservebetter.org,
or call 814.941.7447 for further details.
Dogs
Deserve Better invites volunteers and other nonprofit groups nationwide to deliver
Valentines to local chained dogs. The group is greatly in need of
addresses for chained/penned dogs, and sponsors for the program.
All
valentines will be sent anonymously, unless you specifically ask
for your first or full name to be included. And any information
that is sent out with the valentine will include only the name of
the Dogs Deserve Better organization. Therefore, any information
you give us is strictly confidential, unless you direct otherwise.
5.
Stuff Valentines. Once we get all these Valentines, they have to be matched up with the addresses of 17,000 dogs! And we need HELP stuffing all these envelopes!
Dogs
Deserve Better will Hold Valentine Stuffing Parties
at the Below Locations and Times
PLEASE
try to make one of these Valentine stuffing parties!
We hope to be totally swamped and overwhelmed with Valentines this
year, and need as much help as we can get. Please forward to all
your dog-loving friends. We try to make this a very fun party, and
you're working for a great event: you could possibly save a life
with each Valentine you stuff!
Valentine Stuffing Party in St. Louis, Missouri
Urban Eats, 3301 Meramec, St. Louis, MO
Sunday, February 6, 2011 Noon-3pm
Contact Dawn Ashby 217/246-4174 dawnddb@gmail.com
or Melody Whitworth 239/213-8174 powerofthepaw@yahoo.com
to RSVP or Just Show Up between noon and 3pm
Urban Eats will also donate 15% of sales to DDB so we can eat, drink, be merry, and help chained/penned backyard dogs!
Urban Eats: http://www.urbaneatscafe.com/space.html
Directions: http://www.urbaneatscafe.com/directions.html
Menu: http://www.urbaneatscafe.com/menu.html
Community Center/Club House
Village in Toftrees
State College, Pennsylvania
Thursday Feb 10th. 5:30-10:00 p.m.
Come Anytime, Stay as Long as You'd Like!
We will have Plenty of Food and Drink Available!
Bellwood Library
Bellwood, Pennsylvania
526 Main Street Date February 12, 2011, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Come Anytime, Stay as Long as You'd Like!
We will have Plenty of Food and Drink Available!
For more info, e-mail info@dogsdeservebetter.org
or call 814.941.7447
Sponsor
Valentines
1
for $3.00
2
for $5.00
5
for $10.00
12
for $20.00
30
for $50.00
65
for $100.00
As
always, you are more than welcome to sponsor by phone at
1.877.636.1408 or mail, just send a check or money order
and ordering informationwhat, how many, etc. to P.O.
Box 23, Tipton, PA 16684, and we'll follow your request!
Be sure to provide contact information in case we have questions.
From Cathy Staniunas, Massachusetts: "I hope these help with the Valentine campaign for chained dogs. Any animal abuse breaks my heart. I teach private art classes in my home. I have 17 students, and they all love animals. They were glad to make Valentines."
From Kay Grantham, Louisiana: "Thank you so much for what you do. We are the Magnolia Chapter of the Humane Society of Louisiana. The valentines enclosed were made by a local Girl Scout Troop. We will start our program earlier next year and hope to be able to send lots more."
From Valerie Belt, California: "These cards were made by Ms. Bononi's Elementary students after I recently did a presentation on animal cruelty issues, including Dogs Deserve Better and chained dogs."
From Maru Vigo, Arizona: "It's a pleasure and an honor to help you guys in this noble campaign for the first time. My students were eager to help chained dogs and also help to raise awareness about their plight. We sincerely hope people will open their hearts and minds and finally understand that dogs deserve safe, happy, and loving homes."
Please
help fund the project! It's a large undertaking, and we need your
help today. Any donations you make will be tax deductible.
If
you'd like to donate via regular USPS mail, you may print
out this form in .pdf
format, and send to P.O. Box 23, Tipton, PA 16684