A local
animal rescue & rehoming Sanctuary, the Algernon Trust in Whittlebury near
Towcester, is looking for volunteers who will help them widen the area they
carry out street collection..
The Animal Sanctuary was set up twenty five years ago when the founder
Jane Shepherd moved to Whittlebury near Towcester. For the first eleven years
it was a purely private enterprise paid for entirely out of her own pocket.
As the Sanctuary grew over the years, and having exhausted all of her
personal finances, the Algernon Trust was established in 2001 as a non-profit
organisation in order to raise funds to keep the shelter going. In 1991 Jane
arrived with just five feral cats, one fox and one rabbit. Today there are
usually at least sixty cats, twelve dogs, plus foxes and assorted poultry in
the Trusts care. Jane also provides a
wildlife rescue service 24hours a day 52 weeks a year.
The Trust re-homes cats and dogs where possible but many of the cats
Jane takes in are sick and/or elderly who need to remain at the Sanctuary for
the rest of their days. Currently there are over thirty residents. The Trust
has become as much a hospice and retirement home for cats as a re-homing
centre, and caring for sick and elderly feline friends puts an enormous strain
on the Trusts finances.
Animals are taken in from a wide area not just from Northampton shire
and adjacent counties but from all over the country. The Trust has a strict “no kill” policy and
Jane has no age restriction and has taken in cats over 20 years old. All animals are neutered or spayed and micro
chipped before being rehomed.
The Trust only has 4 kennels, all donated, plus the old ferret pen for
emergencies. Foster homes are relied on
to provide temporary care for dogs awaiting a forever home, however often it is
necessary to keep dogs at private boarding kennels to ensure they are not put
to sleep when the Sanctuary is full. The
kennels are paid for by the Trust.
Foster carers make a huge difference, not only does this reduce the cost
of boarding kennels but it enables the dogs to live in a home environment until
such time that they find their forever homes, foster carers provide love and
food for the dogs and the Trust provides support and also covers vets bills.
Jane relies on volunteers to help at the sanctuary with feeding and
cleaning out all the animals and dog walking as well as to carry out
fundraising activities. Jane says “we
currently have a fundraising co-ordinator in Milton Keynes which is a great
support to me. She has built up contacts
in the Milton Keynes area and arranges to carry out a collection on average once
a month which generates much needed funds for the Trust as well as raising
awareness of our work”. Jane is now looking for volunteers to replicate this
work in Northampton, Banbury, Bicester, Aylesbury & Bedford, she says “I
have a range of promotional material available for use during the collections
and full support will be given to anyone in how to go about arranging
collection”.
Anyone interested in becoming involved in fundraising for the Algernon
Trust can contact Jane on 01327 858238
www.algernontrust.org.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment