Most of Algernon Trust supporters will know that Algernon Trust was founded by Jane Shepherd nearly 25 years ago and still today Jane runs the Sanctuary supported by an invaluable team of volunteers.
Some people are aware that Jane's husband, Melvin has been battling cancer for a long time now. He recently was told by the doctors that his cancer was inoperable and over the past few weeks his condition has deteriorated rapidly, new tests have established that his cancer has now spread to other parts of his body and his condition is expected to continue to decline.
This does mean that Jane can't always leave the Sanctuary at short notice or take or reply to calls as quickly as usual as she is also caring for Melvin whose needs will become greater over the coming weeks and we would appreciate people's understanding through this difficult time.
Jane has a great team of experienced volunteers, however she urgently needs more time to care for Melvin and therefore if anyone is able to spare time on a regular basis in the short term to provide more help at the Sanctuary this would be greatly appreciated.
With 23 dogs already in our care looking for homes, we will of course continue to do everything we can to help dogs that we are asked to however we may not be able to respond as quickly as usual during the coming weeks so in addition for appealing for foster carers to take new dogs into our care, we will also be asking other rescues to look out for our appeals and let us know if there are dogs they can help.
WAYS TO SUPPORT ALGERNON TRUST
www.justgiving.com/algernontrust
The Animal Sanctuary was set up over twenty years ago when the founder Jane Shepherd moved to Whittlebury near Towcester. 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 and micro chipped before being rehomed.
There are many different ways that you can support The Algernon Trust
Adoptions
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| Coffee |
For those looking for a permanent new addition for your family, adopting a rescue pet gives that animal a new loving home. Perhaps you aren't able to adopt yourself, however please do share details of animals needing homes, our website, facebook, twitter & blog are kept up to date with animals needing homes.
Fostering
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| Dolly |
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, fostering an animal not only allows that animal to live in a family environment but also frees up space for us to help more animals. 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.
Volunteering
Jane relies on volunteers to help at the sanctuary with feeding and cleaning out all the animals and dog walking. She has a regular team and is always in need of both regular helpers as well as those who are able to cover holidays & illnesses etc.
Fundraising
we currently have a fundraising co-ordinator in Milton Keynes which is a great support. 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”. We have a co-ordinator setting up in Northampton and Jane is now looking for volunteers to replicate this work in 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”.
Fundraising events, pub quizzes, charity events, fairs etc are invaluable, if you are able to organise anything or have any other ideas - perhaps you could ask your local pub or club to hold a quiz night!
We are now registered on Just Giving for online fundraising! www.justgiving.com/algernontrust
We try to attend as many local events as possible to raise much needed funds & to let people know about our work. Volunteering to run a stand for us allows us to attend more events, we provide merchandise and leaflets etc. We often have to pay a booking fee so please be sure you are free on the date you volunteer for first!
These are the events we are currently looking for people to run a stand at please;
Banbury Show on 9 June in Spiceball Park 10:30-4:30 (suggest an hour either side for setting up & packing away)
Banbury Town Council's Summer Charities Bazaar on Sat/Sun 17/18 August 10-4.3
Donations
- Donations can be sent via www.amazon.co.uk/registry/wishlist/3D7XY9TZZBEJK
- Donations can be sent by paypal to donate@algernontrust.org.uk - please select the gift option
- Financial donations don't have to be large amounts, every little helps, lots of members send small regular amounts & these really help the work of the trust, Regular standing orders for £1 or £2 are very much appreciated and can be sent to The Algernon Trust Bank; Sort Code: 40-35-04; Account No: 02701081
- Algernon Trust is listed on www.easyfundraising.org.uk as a Charity. All you need to do is register, select Algernon Trust as your chosen charity and shop through web page and the donation automatically gets sent. Its as easy as that!
- We regularly purchase supplies from Croft & Co Pet Foods in Broad Street Banbury & donations can be made through them directly onto our account.
Remember Us in Your Will
Although 74% of people regularly support a charity in their lifetime, only 6% of the UK's population have left a gift to charity in their Will!
Gift Aid
The Government operates a scheme called Gift Aid that allows charities to claim the basic rate tax on every pound donated.
So if you donated £10 to Algernon Trust, it means that you’ll actually be giving us at least £12.50!
Giving under Gift Aid means that so much more money can be raised at no extra cost to our donors, only UK tax payers can give under gift aid & you will need to fill in a form to allow us to claim!
Is your employer part of the Give As You Earn scheme? You can nominate Algernon Trust as your nominated charity! More info here: http://www.workplacegiving.co.uk/how-it-works/
Collections
We are often offered pet items that are no longer needed by people, or people may want to donate food or other items brought from places other than Amazon. It is really helpful for us if we can tell them a business or company not too far from them where they can take items they would like to donate. If you own a business and would be prepared to collect items for us then please let us know & we will arrange a collection bin for you. If you can think of a business local to you that you think may be interested in having a collection bin for us, then please do ask them for us!
eBay
We are now registered to receive donations through ebay listings!
eBay sellers can choose to donate a percentage of their sale to their selected charity & will receive a credit towards their seller fee for doing so.
When buyers pay through eBay Checkout using PayPal, they may choose to make a small donation to a featured or their favourite charity, regardless of whether the item originally sold for charity.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/egw/ebay-for-charity/charity-profile/?NP_ID=61304
Current Appeals
From time to time we have specific things we are fundraising for, please do look out for these & you can help us by letting your friends & family know! Our current appeals are:
Currently Algernon Trust has 23 dogs looking for forever homes, which is an unprecedented number. Being only a small Rescue this is a huge additional expense to cover along with the many cats also in their care. Most of the animals are un-neutered, need vaccinating & micro-chipping, some have had general medical issues that have required veterinary treatment. This is of course in addition to the general day to day costs of feeding & housing the animals, so they are now desperate for funds. Without help, the Trust will have to turn away any animals needing rescue, many who may otherwise be put to sleep.
Donations would be very much appreciated & can be sent to The Algernon Trust Bank; Sort Code: 40-35-04; Account No: 02701081 or by PayPal to donate@algernontrust.org.uk (please select the gift option).
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| Some of the dogs rescued in April 2013 alone! |
Pet Insurance
Pet insurance can be confusing, there is an excellent article on Martin Lewis' Moneysaving
expert site which explains the different levels of cover & what to look out for when comparing prices
www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cut-pet-insurance-costs
We believe Pet Plan, whilst not the cheapest, offers a good level of cover, if you choose to insure with them, please do mention us as they send us a small reward :)
http://www.petplan.co.uk/
From time to time companies run nominations for causes to support or charity related awards seek nominations, please do look out for these & as well as nominating us, please do let us know so we can let other supporters know!
Currently you can nominate us for:
We have joined the Great Big Small Charity Draw 2013 – The tickets are priced at £1 and we will receive 92% of the funds from our ticket sales. To purchase tickets online, please follow this link http://www.smallcharitydraw.co.uk/tickets.php?id=algernon
you have until 16th December!The drawing of the winning tickets will take place on the 19 February 2014. The winners will be contacted and the winning numbers will be announced on the small charity draw websiteHere are the prizes!
Top Prize *Luxury Holiday Abroad*
Weekend at Lake Windermere, the Lake District
iPad Minis
Segway Rally Thrill for two
Bungee jump
London Eye Experience for the family
£100 Trailfinder voucher
Keg of Thornbridge Ale
We will also be giving away:
£500 – to the participating organisation that sells the most tickets
£250 – to the participating organisation that sells the winning ticket for the top prize
You can see theTerms and Conditions of Prizes of each prize http://www.smallcharitydraw.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Terms-and-Conditions-of-Prizes.pdf
Licensed by the Gambling Commission www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk
Licence numbers: 019816-R-302937-001 (remote) and 019816-N-302938-001 (non-remote)
Promoter: Pauline Broomhead, The FSI, Level 2, Ingestre Court, Ingestre Place, London, W1F 0JL
ASDA Nominate a Cause
ASDA are inviting their customers and colleagues to nominate their favourite local cause for a charitable contribution
To nominate Algernon Trust, simply find your local store and click the nominate button on the right of their page! Tell them your name, email address & why you want them to support us!
We would really appreciate your nominations, here are the links to the pages for Northampton & Milton Keynes stores :)
http://storelocator.asda.com/store/northampton-thornton
http://storelocator.asda.com/store/milton-keynes
Coming Soon: Pets at Home VIP Club!
Thank you for your support!
