Post date: Dec 30, 2015 5:33:17 PM
It has been a very good year for Ocracats.
Through mid-December, our income has totaled $16,222.85, including:
· $5,697 from the sale of tees, calendars, and notecards at Mermaid’s Folly
· $650 from the Zelda the Gypsy benefit at Roxy’s Antiques
· almost $1,700 from the Folk Festival
· $115.77 from the Amazon Smile program
· $610 from Ocracoke Island Realty’s donation for reservations booked during Pet Week
· $424 from Zillies from their product promo
Our big-ticket expenses included:
· $1,742 to Howard Johnson for the spay/neuter clinic in September
· $1,271 for vet care and other expenses for the kittens we inherited
The rest of our costs covered vet visits, medicines, food for the colonies, and vendor fees for the income-producing items we sell.
We should have enough money on hand to cover the feral colonies’ food costs and medical needs over the winter.
During the three-day clinic in September, 19 male cats were neutered and 24 female cats were spayed. In addition, 51 cats received rabies vaccines. Thanks to the anonymous donor who provided a $250 gift certificate so that Dr. Johnson and Dr. Scott and their families could have dinner at Jason’s while they were on the island for the clinic.
We inherited, cared for, and ultimately found good homes for 18 kittens! This would not have been possible without the foster care of Melinda Sutton, Anna Rucker, and a host of other volunteers.
Barbara Jemison and I put together an Adopt an Ocrakitten campaign that helped with some of these placements and that we hope will continue to help us find homes for future kittens. Thanks to Ocracoke Island Realty for placing a free ad for this program in their 2016 rental brochure.
Thanks to all the caretakers of the feral colonies for your diligence in providing food, shelter and medical care when needed for the ferals. We have a very low incidence of feline leukemia and other diseases in our colonies, largely because of the excellent care they receive.
Gael Hawkins, Mickey Baker, and Carmie Prete have organized and managed all the items we sell during the year—not an easy job. Their efforts have made a big difference in the Ocracats financial picture.
Thanks to Felicity Gage for volunteering to collect and deposit donation jar money and to Kelley Shinn for storing all the traps, etc.
Thanks to everyone who responded to our Facebook posts with donations of food or money to help us care for the cats and kittens.
Ellen Goldlust has updated and maintained our website.
I am running out of words and know I have left out people who contributed to such a successful year. A HUGE thanks to everyone for your help and support!!!
Happy New Year!
Ruth Fordon