PAWS ACROSS HAWAI’I 

E Newsletter

Edition No. 3 

April 2004

 “It’s About the Animals!”

IT’S UP! IT’S UP! 

Our website is up and running and looks fantastic!

Thanks to Steve.

Please go to www.pawsacrosshawaii.org and check it out.

We so appreciate Kathy and Steve for taking on this giant project!

Seeing the website brought tears to my eyes. It’s happening guys! We are coming together, and working together we will make an incredible difference! Let’s make this website a place to go whenever you put the words “animals” and “Big Island” together.

If you have any suggestions please let us know.

NEXT MEETING

Our next meeting will be Saturday, May 15^th  10:00 to 1:00 at Tasha Ohana Animal Sanctuary in Hilo - Laurie Lannan’s place .  If you have Internet access you can go to our website at www.pawsacrosshawaii.org and get more information and even a map from Mapquest.  You can type in your address and get detailed driving instructions from your location!  Amy Lannan will be our guest speaker. We so enjoyed hearing her talk about the history of animal welfare on the Big Island at our second meeting that we asked her back.  Remember to bring finger food to share if you wish.  That seems to work really well.  The first part of the meeting will be announcements and guest speaker.  We will then break for finger food.  We will then regroup to finalize our plans for June: Love-A-Cat Month.

Meeting Flyer Attachment

There is a copy of our May 15^th meeting flyer sent as a separate attachment that can be printed out and posted around your area.

March 27^th meeting recap

Our March meeting went very well.  We had new faces, which are always welcome.  

We had our mini-review, introductions and announcement time. Steve and Kathy P. spoke about our Paws Across Hawai’i website.  They already had the domain name reserved and gave us a presentation of some of the possibilities for our website.  They also had some questions as to what kind of information we wanted to have available.  Our website, www.pawsacrosshawaii.org  will be the place to go to if you need information about what is happening.

We then had a short food break and regrouped.  Franny presented June: Love-A-Cat Month plans.  She had so many ideas!  We went with those people willing to make those ideas reality.  We were thrilled to meet Willow Aureala.  This was her first meeting and she agreed to solicit businesses and even agreed to create the flyers.  Way to go Willow, we definitely need people like you!

Vets and Businesses

Several people volunteered to solicit businesses and vets.  Willow’s flyers can be used to take to a business or vet office.  If you would like a flyer, please let me know.

Microchip Clinics

There are several people who are working on Microchip Clinics around the island.  One is already scheduled in Volcano on June 6^th by Cat-Care, and ARCH is sponsoring one in Hawi.  Other possibilities are Kona, Keaau, and South Point.  Laura will be showing us exactly what we need to do to have a smooth-running microchip clinic at our next meeting.

Paws Across Hawai’i Brochure

We have been working on a Paws Across Hawai’i general information brochure.  We will have brochures at the next meeting.  They can be used for solicitations, recruitment and general information.  Working on this brochure really has me excited about OUR PAWSABILITIES!

“Compassion Kitty” and “Paws Puppy”

We have added two banks at our meetings:

The “Compassion Kitty” bank is for funds that will be used for rescued animals needing veterinary assistance.  We collected $209.00 and have already assisted a foster kitty in need of vet care.

The “PAWS Puppy” bank is for general Paws Across Hawai’i funds such as brochures, directories, banks, and administration costs, etc.  We collected $77.00 at our last meeting.   We have since received a donation in the amount of $300.00.  We agreed that it could be used to get some more banks.  I was able to order 12 kitty banks, which should be available at our May 15^th meeting.  We can distribute the banks as needed; such as microchip clinics or for collections at businesses, etc.  We have so many ideas.  We need funds to bring them to fruition.

Nonprofit Goal

Our goal is to form as an official 501(c)3 nonprofit organization; however, the board must be representative of the Big Island.  We are seeking one representative from every animal organization and an equal number of individuals representing different parts of the Big Island who would be willing to work on the board.  Until then, we are operating with coordinators.  For now, Paws Across Hawai’i is operating as a program under Cat-Care, a 501(c)3 nonprofit (definitive IRS ruling).  If you would like your donation to be tax-deductible, please make your check payable to Cat-Care, designate that it is for Paws Across Hawai’i,  “Paws Puppy” or “Compassion Kitty” and mail it to:

            Ruth Savakinas

            76-726 Hualalai Rd., Unit D

            Kailua Kona, HI 96740

Ruth will log and forward all donations to Cat-Care for distribution as specified for Paws Across Hawai’i.

PAWS ACROSS HAWAI’I  IS ABOUT EMPOWERMENT.

There is much that needs to be done.  Our animals can use all the help they can get.

REMEMBER: BE PAWSATIVE!  WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

 DON’T FORGET OUR WEBSITE!