Apr
10
2008

2:38pm

So excited for the ZooToo visit!

Posted by Erin (EEF75) in Shelter Makeover

3 comments

I admit that I can be overly enthusiastic about things, but I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE ZOOTOO VISIT!!!!!!!!!

When we started this months ago, I NEVER would have guessed that Maxfund would end up #3 in the country! Even top 20 seemed so far away! Like many of the great shelters that participated, we didn't have staff to help, no marketing department, no mass email lists that we could buy. This was 100% dedication and effort from the amazing people that volunteer. There are big shelters with many more volunteers who didn't even come close to us in points, and I am so proud of the end result.

Along the way, I've learned about new products (and bought a whole bunch to review!), met great people, and have been touched by many stories.

Ultimately, I know that Maxfund deserves this makeover for exactly the reasons that brought us this far. The small staff and all of the volunteers are dedicated to the animals. They will do literally whatever they can to better the lives of the animals. Dogs on hunger strike? Just post on the forum and the freezer will be full of meat (cooked and packaged in small containers) before you know it! No one bats an eye, and no one thinks that it's not their problem. Cat food in short supply? Just mention it and the kitchen will be stocked! There are a million more examples like this, too. The point is that everyone cares (no surprise there, it IS a shelter) and everyone DOES something about it.



Discussion

Comment on this entry


3 comments found.
Erin, this was very well written. I love your enthusiasm and it shows when you are around the animals. You are right about Max Fund not having a huge staff and several departments to work on this contest. We are a small shelter with very loyal yet small staff who are busy with catring for the animals and adoptions, to mention only a few things that they do for the shelter. Max Fund has many volunteers who constantly help with the animals, events, etc. And in between all that was being done, staff, volunteers and people of the community were generous with their time and effort to try to help Max Fund win. Max Fund has a great following of people who care about the animals and that is what counts.
Cassie3
Cassie3
3 months ago
Reply
You are so right; MaxFund has absolutely amazing, dedicated volunteers. I have been reading the volunteers' forum for a couple of weeks now. MaxFund is blessed to have such a large group of concerned, caring volunteers. However, not all of MaxFund's supporters on Zootoo are volunteers. I have been to MaxFund once and saw only the lobby. Some of MaxFund's Zootoo supporters are simply adopters, people like myself, who have not only made cash donations, but have spent countless hours on Zootoo as a gesture of appreciation. MaxFund's volunteers took care of my Cassie until the right time came along when I found her. As a result, I spent so much time on Zootoo that my very understanding husband would laugh when asking, "What are you doing? Wait! Don't tell me! You're on ZOOTOO!!"
Jeanne H.
Jeanne H. (JHind)
3 months ago
Reply
So right, Erin. I also couldn't believe how we rallied everyone and moved up to the top 20. I joined December 13th after seeing some of the information on the forum and when I came back from a vacation we were #232, or something like that. I was excited by that number. Clearly I got really involved in building points, but it was easy when each weekend I went to the shelter and looked into the Maxfund furry faces. They gave me lots of inspiration!