Week 55 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

We Hear “No Hope and No Future” from Kids and Most Parents Stay Frozen in Place.

When Nick Zaeda dropped off his neighbors’ PACC donations I sensed some disappointment … in me, too. So, I discussed approaches, email requests vs. door-to-door collections. Both Nick and his dad said they would consider a different tact. It was unspoken but all of us thought their neighborhood program was failing early.

In our brief conversation I mentioned the Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg and her startling rise to prominence. I have been especially taken by her use of English. She speaks like a native born American, with eloquence so concise it is astonishing. “Do not listen to me, listen to the scientists.” “I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic … and act as if the house was on fire.” “Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.”

Later in the evening my thoughts turned back to Nick and I became indignant, not mad, somewhat like Greta. These are terrible times and children are facing a future of crisis everywhere. So, when one kid asks for help from his neighbors, like Nick, whether email or face to face, why doesn’t he get that help? It’s just not dog or cat food. It’s food that PACC doesn’t have to pay for which means they can divert food purchasing funds to performing more spaying and neutering. This in turn would reduce both cat and dog populations. With respect to fewer cats, the US bird population could then begin to recoup the 29% loss it has suffered in the past few years.

Everything on this planet is definitely connected. It’s just not pet food Nick is collecting. Why don’t folks see that? And if they don’t really care or they can’t find the energy to engage, why did they have kids in the first place. It makes no sense, like their apathy.

I’m going to ask Nick to forward this email to all his neighbors with a little note like, “FYI, the founder of Rescue Critters Food Drive would like a word with you. Then I would like to schedule, via email, a pet food pick up time on Sunday. Thank you very much for your help. Nick.”

This week we donated 284 lbs. of pet food, 3 bags of Nylabones, one bag of Steak Sticks, a couple of grooming tools and $32.05 in cash and one check.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 54 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

It's Still Looking Good

Our weekly average is over 250 lbs. of pet food. That means we will donate nearly 12,000 pounds of food in the next year. The 10,000 lb. goal we just set two weeks ago is only going to last until August, 2020 … if that long.  

This week we donated 205.4 lbs. of pet food and $49.10 in cash and one check which adds up to 260 lbs.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 53 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

Incentivize Keeps Popping Up

When I’m not thinking about taking a nap, I’m always thinking about how to change my world.

Rescued Critters came to life when I was thinking about how to add heat protection to the food, shelter and water requirements for dogs in Tucson.

I was thinking about all of the dumped trash in our neighborhood that would appear weekly on the streets and in the alleys when an email response from Council Member Richard Fimbres introduced me to Pat Tapia, Deputy Director of Environmental & General Services Department. At the onset of our relationship, I’d see a mess, take a photo and send it to Pat. A few days later the mess was gone.

Many months later I met Pat at a neighborhood meeting sponsored by Environmental Services and the Tucson Police Department. It was dark and I was not familiar at all with the El Rio Community Health Center on Irvington.

About ready to give up after touring the large parking lot a number of times, I spotted a small sign for an AA meeting in the grass next to a sidewalk. My brain shouted, “meeting places, that may be it?” It was, and see how my brain works? Any glimmer of hope jumps to the fore.

After the presentations, I introduced myself to Pat. That little chat opened the door to a highly productive and ongoing neighborhood cleanup project.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about ways to encourage people to spay and neuter their pets. For folks like me who have no money to speak of, a minimum $50 vet bill is problematic. That’s why the lines at the intermittent and free, spay and neuter clinics can run 300 pet lovers deep.

My first thought involved a wealthy individual who supported one vet clinic that did nothing but free spay and neuter. When I figured out that $10,000 would only pay for 200 or so small dog operations, I started to look for other ideas

.

Then I got a two-fer … how about if every new registered voter could get his or her pet spayed or neutered for free? Responsible pet owners, responsible citizens … what a deal.

Then the dollars crept back into the picture and I let that one go. But incentivizing voter registration stayed on the table. Nearly every business offers discounts to military folks and vets, too. Also, police officers, fire fighters and first responders. They just have to present a ID and receive a discount.

So, what about registered voters/tax payers who pay to run the local and federal government? Shouldn’t they be recognized for their important contribution to society, too? Just show your Voter ID and receive a 5% discount. Why not!

For those who need incentives … which is most folks.

In a drawer some place I have a set of dog tags and a DD-214 discharge form. Another drawer houses my tax returns, but my most prized possession in the voter ID I carry in my wallet. That makes me feel the most American. And that feeling has been hard to come by lately, what with kids in pens, top government officials placating their “leader’s lies,” and frozen politicians.

CEO Doug McMillon, Walmart

When this insanity started years ago, I asked myself, “Where are all the corporate leaders? What are they waiting for?”

You see, I believe business will solve all of our social ills, not the government. And then it just happened this week. The sleeping giant woke up.

Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Kroger and Wegmans stood up. Of course, there are calls for boycotts. But let me tell you something, when it comes to owning an assault weapon or putting delicious, quality, low priced food on the table, Walmart will win. Just ask any mom.

Now it’s your turn to stand up, whether you work for or own a business. Start figuring out how to offer discounts to all your customers with Voter ID. They’ll love you for it. Also, hand out voter registration forms and tell them they can register online and vote at their kitchen table. If you do a good enough job, there will be no more kids in pens.

It took two trips to PACC today to make our usual donation. My 12:30 pm delivery to PACC (on the left) was a bit too early for Steve. He sent me a text saying he had his donation ready as I was driving home. A pick up, then lunch and back to PACC was just fine with me. Mostly care about getting a donation, never when.

This week we donated 141.7 lbs. of pet food and $115.04 in cash and two check.

Epilogue: (fancy word for more to say)

I’m still in need of an idea to incentivize pet owners who need free spay and neutering services. Please let me know if you come up with anything. Start with ways to get lots of money for caring veterinarians.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 52 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

Miles Neighborhood

First Anniversary PACC Donation

3,783.5 Lbs. of Pet Food + $3969.46 Cash =

$8,194.0 Lbs.

That's 4.1 Tons of Pet Food, Folks!

This is how it all happened.

First Donation to PACC - September 9, 2018

First Goal – 4,333.3 lbs. of pet food, based on 75 neighbors donating $1.00 per week x 52 weeks = $3,900.00. With Pima Animal Care Center’s $0.90 per pound purchasing power, $3,900.00 turns into 4,333.3 lbs. of pet food or 2.2 tons.

Second Goal – By May, we beat our goal and set 6,490 lbs. or 3.2 tons as our next challenge.

52^nd Donation - This week we donated 234.3 lbs. of pet food and $179.54 in cash and three checks. We charged over the goal line thanks to my friends Steve, Christina, Lee and John who gave just a little bit more for the cause. Everyone else did what they do best, support Rescued Critters Sunday after Sunday without skipping a beat.

If you are wondering how many pups 8,194 lbs. of food can feed, consider this. It is recommended that a 20 - 25 lb. dog eat one cup (8 oz.) of kibble per day. So, we fed 16,388 dogs one meal. If you are talking 50 lb. dogs, the number of meals would be in the 8,000 range. Cats? 32,000 meals, maybe.

Now, let’s see how many meals we can serve next year. Think 10,000 lbs. of pet food is a good place to start?

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 51 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

With One Week to Go,

We Only Need 240 Lbs.

to Reach the 8,000 lbs.

Annual Goal

This week we donated 250.8 lbs. of pet food and $26.32 in cash and one check. If only we could do that again.

My friend, Steve, stepped up big time—as usual— with three heavy bags of cat food and one monster bag of dog food. Lenny, my friend on 12^th Street, got his niece involved and added 6 tasty (seedless) watermelons and a hefty bag of cat food. Then John, my friend in the Foothills, gave some major bills for the cause. Everybody else did what they always do … be there for PACC week after week after week.

Miles Neighbors don’t need much enticement to support PACC, but here’s another way to look at our pending 8,000 lb. donation.

Since a 20 lb. dog (Beagle, Corgi, Westie) eats approximately 1 cup of dry food a day (8 oz.), our 8,000 lbs. would feed approximately 16,000 dogs one meal. Double that number if we were just feeding cats.

So, think about it and if you can dig a little deeper this last week of our year, PACC and I would surely appreciate it. And when we reach our annual goal, I know you will appreciate that yourself.

See you Sunday,

Peter