Pima Acceptable Donations

Pima Acceptable Donations

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Week 50 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,
Rescued Critters Food Drive
Now in the Foothills

Meet Nick Zaetta, a high school junior who has a unique—and
based on his first week’s donations—a highly successful approach
to our Rescued Critters Food Drive.
The basic concept of Rescued Critters Food Drive is to knock on neighbors’ doors each week and ask for help to feed rescued animals. For years now, including my time with One Can A Week, I have been trying to think of a way to initiate our food drive in the foothills where the HOA (Home Owners Association), not the Neighborhood Association, is the governing body. The one big distinction between the two is HOAs never allow solicitation, and for a very good reason. We allow solicitation in our neighborhood and we’re always on the lookout for intrusive folks. If HOAs allowed solicitation can you imagine what it would be like for those Tucsonan neighborhoods? Terrible, to say the least.

I had given up on ever finding a solution to engage HOAs when I was suddenly introduced to Nick Zaetta, a high school junior who wanted to get involved in an entrepreneurial community service project.

On the right is the stack of food Nick donated to PACC today.
Twenty-Four Years in the Making
When I arrived in Tucson in 1995, one of my first tasks was to find a physician to help me renew my prescriptions for my hypertension medications. I am relentless in taking my medication daily and even at 77-years-old, I have no heart or blood pressure problems. That’s because I somehow found Dr. Mark Zaetta.

What I like most about Dr. Zaetta is he answers all my questions and is curious about what I do in life. He knew I had the One Can A Week food drive and when the article in the Tucson Dog came out on our Rescued Critters Food Drive, I gave him a copy.

Another thing I like is Dr. Zaetta never tells me, “I told you so” even when I refused the senior pneumonia shot and I came down with a mean bronchial infection. Soon after he cured me, I got the shot and now do anything he says, realizing my body is way older than my mind thinks it is.


PACC likes the food donations stacked at the front desk. Nick’s first
week’s donation of 150 lbs., on the right, is pretty impressive. See
those bags piled on the 30 lbs. of cat food? That’s what my first
week’s donation looked like,but we had more money, so it was a
good start, too.

This week we donated 194.4 lbs. of pet food and $26.16 in cash
and two checks.
Sunday Door-to-Door Replaced with Email
A couple of months ago Dr. Zaetta called me and said he and his son, Nick wanted to participate in the Rescued Critters Food Drive. He told me he lives in a cul-du-sac and he believes he can interest his neighbors via an email. The idea didn’t hit me then but while standing in line at PACC today, it came roaring home. Of course, email is perfect. That’s how HOA folks communicate with their neighbors and they feel perfectly safe. 

Although I have spent two meetings with Nick explaining the paperwork process for the food drive, I could see the different elements like receipts and quarterly reports seemed a bit arduous.

Of course, it is! What was I not thinking? I will do it all for him as I did for organizations like the Miles School, Sprouts Supermarkets and The Muslim Community Center. Nick is very good at accumulating donations in his neighborhood so that is all he should do. Forms, paperwork and delivery to PACC is my job.

Email, I’ll be damned. Glad Nick and his dad thought of that.

See you Sunday,

Peter

SPECIAL NOTICE
PACC is offering Free Vaccines and Microchips for Dogs and Cat

Saturday, August 31st at Kino Stadium, 2500 E. Ajo Way beginning at 8 am. No appointment necessary … first 300 animals. Dogs on leash, cats in carriers only.

1 comment: