Monday, July 27, 2009

The Cat People Have Spoken

Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be able to raise so much. I feel kind of silly actually, having started off with such a modest goal of $3,000. I'm sorry I underestimated you so. I guess I never thought so many would be willing to give so much to a shelter outside of their community, let alone outside their country.

But you did. Of course you did. And you gave again. And you rallied and cheered and supported and told all your friends about what we were doing. While our totals grew, so did the number of followers, and we all witnessed something magical unfold.

We watched a lot of people come together. We watched a whole lot of good happen. We cried a lot of happy tears. We watched a small campaign snowball into something really, really huge. We held our breath while we waited to meet that final goal of $20 Squillion. We saw a community of people speak up for the cats and kittens. We watched people take notice.

As it stands today, with our donations, the funds raised from the auctions, and what Shana collected too for the team, The Itty Bitty Kitty Community brought in a whopping $22,855. REMARKABLE!!


From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of you for caring and giving so much. I am so proud of what we have accomplished together. We have made a difference.

Wonderful, beautiful Itty Bitty Kitty Community, you enrich my life. You make this world a better place.


A Squillion hugs, Laurie


PS Now I have a few community members I would like to thank....

Greg: It was Greg who suggested in the early days of the fundraiser that we could quite possibly go beyond 10 Squillion. I thought it sounded way out of reach when he suggested it, but quickly I was proven wrong. He offered lots of fundraising ideas and encouragement along the way. I should also mention he has big crush on Butterbean. She thinks he's swell too.


Sue: Sue was there every single step of the way, being supportive, and getting all choked up by the wonderfulness of this community. Thank you, friend!!

Shana: Yay for Shana! Thanks for always being so positive,,you were such a team cheer-leader. (and she brought in a nice little chunk of change to the campaign too!!)

Rita: She's a generous soul and inspired so many to give by suggesting her match-making offer. Thank you Rita!!

Cynthia: Thank you Cynthia! You are generous times a squillion. You gave, and gave and gave. Your enthusiasm was contagious, and inspired so many to give as well.

Staci: Staci sent our pics into Cute Overload which brought a lot TON exposure to our campaign. (and introduced the previously mentioned Cynthia to the IBKC !!)

Mimi: Thank you Mimi for donating your beautiful painting. You got the auction ball rolling! We're so thrilled your pretty painting fetched a pretty penny!

Chroma Lab (Alicia and Tony): Thank you for donating one of your beautiful clocks to the auction. Thank you too for spreading the word about the IBKC and our fundraiser. Thanks for all the love and support your family ALWAYS sends our way!

Dan: Thank you, Dan for suggesting the auctioning of the naming rights to the Kitties. BRILLIANT! Absolutely BRILLIANT!

Nanette, Renee, Sarah, Eleanor, Francesca, Koren, Margo, Garth and Woody: A huge thanks to all our our generous naming rights winners!

Craig: Thank you for being so patient and supportive through this event. Thank you too for always reminding me that my wildest dreams could be bigger. Lastly, thanks for agreeing to wear matching tee-shirts at the Dog-A-Thon. I know it was kind of nerdy.



Dog-A-Thon pics and recap to follow. I had to thank you first!

TOMMOROW we'll be announcing the lucky winner of the complete IBKC card set and naming rights to a kitten from our next litter. I've got a few other prizes to raffle off too!

28 comments:

  1. I'm sure I speak (type) for many of us that it's you, Laurie, who needs thanking. You've welcomed a myriad of strangers from all over the world into your home and given us a wonderful "happy place" filled with a Butterbean, a Drewey, and babies, and made them all more than just adorable cat photos (which, in itself is wonderful) by sharing their accomplishments, the joys and tears. The fundraiser could never have achieved so much without you.

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  2. Could we have some pictures of the Fortunatos with the totaled up tote board, looking exhausted?

    Congratulations on the squillions. And for coining the word squillion.

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  3. Thank YOU for what you do all year--fostering kittens, helping them find homes, and spreading the word about adopting animals.

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  4. Truly, Laurie, you are the one to be thanked! You kept the ball rolling, you inspired us all to give. Thank you for being the IBKC and giving us all such a bright smile in our day every day. Your imagination, photography and generosity are inspirational to all of us.

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  5. Laurie, you have a way with words, and a way with tears. Joyful tears, that is.

    It is such an honor to be a part of the IBKC community, and to be your friend. You're one in a squillion!

    Now ~ YAYs from the cattery ~ biggies Savanna, Sylvester, Shadow, Princess, Betty Sue and a few others (who were nameless upon adoption) all found their new forever homes on Saturday!!! Plus, Angel & Velma's new momma is coming for them today! YAY!!!

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  6. All of your information and your story was forwarded to a documentary filmmaker by the name of McPhee. He's making a documentary about people who help animals. I don't know if he'll contact you or not.

    Also, make sure to include pics of you and Craig in those matching tees.

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  7. Laurie ~ There have been so many people involved in this amazing success story ~ without you and your inspiration it could not have happened.

    Kudos to everyone who supported the effort whether by donating or simply by cheering it on.

    Huge kudos to Laurie for her beautfiul and caring heart.

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  8. If you were to put together a book about IBKC — a photography book, or whatever — the perfect inspiration would be your quote: "I think in my entire life, this will be the happiest story I will have to tell."

    Such a brilliant quote. You could do a photography book that would include at the end the pictures of the facilities you helped build. It would be pretty impressive. If you did it in the next year, selling it could be part of your fundraiser for next year.

    Just some ideas for after you catch your breath.

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  9. Laurie, thank you for the kind words but I was "only a pack horse in your great affairs." Your creativity is amazing and I was constantly in awe of your fundraising posts.

    As if we didn't already know, the IBKC community is a pretty amazing group of people. When we all work together, we can accomplish a hell of a lot as has been demonstrated. I am very gratified to know what we have all done to help the kitties in Tacoma.

    I really had fun with this; thanks Laurie! We now return you to your regularly scheduled kitty viewing.

    Love to Charlene...

    Greg

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  10. Oh my Laurie, Charlene, Drewey, Craig and so on....

    I am honored that y'all have helped so many while we but watch. And occasionally contribute to a worthy cause. It is one of the only ways we can express our appreciation for your support of the IBK's!

    A SQUILLION ear skritches for the Bean & her charges (Drewey too if she will tolerate them!)

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  11. Laurie, Take what Elaine said seriously. Do a book with the prettiest and cutest shots of all the babies-- make it a story of Charlene and her charges -- include the Dogathon and its result-- and you'll have a happy ending that will spread the word even more. Self-publishing isn't hard, and I just betcha you'll get all of us who love Charlene already to buy one :) PS be sure to include Charlene's darling baby pic! (look up "print on demand". . .)

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  12. and HURRAY for the big kitties!




    and The Crazy Cat people have spoken!

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  13. Thank you for Maddie. What more can we say?

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  14. Okay we thought of one more thing to say: We'd like to pre-order 30 IBKC books.

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  15. I can't believe that it ended up being that much - that is totally amazing! I am so glad that the kitties are going to get some great new stuff at the shelter to help in taking care of them. It is just wonderful! I can't wait to see the pictures fom the walk!!

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  16. Yaay for cat people... or just animal people in general :)

    As everyone has already said - THANK YOU Laurie for all you do each day for the kitties. Besides taking care of them, you also take care of us here on the blog, keeping us supplied with warm and fuzzy feelings and lots of smiles. You are amazing.

    I'm thrilled to have found this blog and be part of this virtual community. It's a daily dose of happy. Even when there are sad times, there's a feeling that we're all in this together and things will get better again. It's a wonderful thing that you've created here. We owe you all the thanks in the world. Our donations were a small way to show our appreciation... but really, none of this would have been possible without you.

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  17. Thank you for opening your life to these little beings, endowing them with such winning personas and sharing it all with the world.

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  18. Everyone has already been so eloquent, so just add my big, "Thank YOU," Laurie, to you and everyone who made this possible!
    Lisa

    (And, Shanna, such a good news day for big kitties! Yay!!!)

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  19. THANK YOU Laurie and everybody for making this achievable and for loving the kitties sooo much. I have to say that the Lovejoys campaigned fantastically and hope to hear from them soon..tears...tears...tears...of JOY!

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  20. Sorry... I meant the Darling Darling babies - Selma, Francine, Rhoda, Lucinda and the gorgeous Hubie boy... Well done on the campaign, little babies...

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  21. Hooray for YOU! For your generous heart and tireless hands, plus the ability to project manage kittens into being your "Telethon" staff : ) Bless you a zillion.

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  22. Or maybe bless you a squillion. ;-)

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  23. You're an inspiration, Laurie. You have done so much for the kitties, and the reason why so many people are here supporting you is because you yourself have stood up and helped out. I know that I wish I could do what you do - and reading & supporting something so wonderful as the IBKC, it feels nice to help out, even from a distance (Ontario, Canada).
    Thank you so much for all that you do. :)

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  24. Laurie--I think the inspiration for so many people helping a non-local shelter is YOU.

    I did struggle for a minute (a brief minute) about donating. I donate to my own local SPCA and wouldn't want to take away from their efforts. But, in the end, I decided:

    a) I would make matching donations to my SPCA (of Tompkins County, Ithaca New York, believed to be America's first, and only, no-kill open admission companion animal shelter)

    b) to help an animal anywhere is to help animals everywhere

    c) the Seattle/Tacoma area Humane Society may become a national leader in the effort to help abandoned animals, a shelter which others will want to emulate. We all, with our contributions, may be some small part of that.

    Laurie, thank you again for YOUR contributions. The joy you bring to people on a daily basis is, as Martha would say, a good thing. And I concur on elaine's idea for a book. I would definitely be one of the first pre-orders!

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  25. i cannot WAIT to see more pictures. what a wonderful, up-lifting adventure - and one with marvelous long-term effects.
    christine

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  26. Everyone has already said what I wanted to say, so I will at this point just say "Thank YOU!". Not just for the fundraiser but for the smile you put on my face every morning when I look at your site. It is how I start my day. Between you, CuteOverload and DailyCoyote, I get the jumpstart I need to get my day going. Nothing is more precious on this planet than the animals and the rest of nature! The next thing that comes the closest are people who have big hearts and who protect God's furry gifts.

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  27. Well, I managed to get this far w/o crying, but now tears of gratitude and joy are flowing. I've been a follower of the IBKC for about a year and a half, and have been moved by the kindness and community feeling here. The fundraiser just confirmed that first impression.


    "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

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  28. What's that old saying?

    What Charlene wants Charlene gets. Personally, I think it was Ms. Bean's success story from orphan to the beloved Charlene Butterbean that pushed every one over the giving edge.

    But then of course, I am bias and known to believe Ms. Charlene is just about the most wonderful four legged female kitty in existance.

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