Week 28 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

Seven Envelopes and a $2.00 Bill

It really was a lucky St. Paddy’s Day Sunday. About halfway through my route, white envelopes started to appear in a number of screen doors. That meant no one was home but they didn’t forget about PACC and our food drive.

Normally, only two neighbors have an envelope with their donation waiting for me. I put a check mark on the envelope in lieu of the Thank You card, and place it back in the door. Sunday there were five more envelopes which create a little excitement when I got home.  

It’s like lots of presents for PACC. The disassembled envelopes show the lack of patience with the sticky-seal.

The best surprise was a $2.00 bill which I had not encountered in a while. The associate at PACC who logs our weekly donation, told me that when she was a kid, she would get $2.00 bills and never spend them. “I wish I could do

that with $20.00 bills,” I said. She smiled and agreed.

This week we donated 44.6 lbs. of pet food, 4 pill bottles and $81.04 in cash and two checks.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 27 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

African Daises                          30 lbs. of Cat Food

Lots of people know Armando, but more know about and are intrigued by his prolific African Daisy garden which covers the corner of S. Highland Avenue and E. 13^th Street every spring and summer. This year, for some reason, those colorful flowers have spread across the street and way down the block. And now they have a stronghold in my alley between Highland and Vine because I planted more than a score of seedlings last year.

My friend Steve who lives on the corner of S. Vine and 13^th Street asked me in January to help him start his own garden of African Daisies. To oblige, I gave him a planter box with 50 seedlings which he promptly planted.

The weather has not been pleasant for the past two month but fortunately these daisies are quite hardy and Steve’s garden took hold. So much so he was motivated to return the favor and give me a 30 lb. bag of cat food for PACC.

A week earlier my friend Marci, who lives on E. 12^th Street above S. Cherry, asked me about the African Daisies because she walks her Boston Terrier through my alley now and again. Well, this past Sunday, I gave her a bunch of seeds and planted a couple of thriving plants outside her front door. And more seedlings are on the way to her if we can ever get the sun to hang around.

If anyone else would like to start your own African Daisy garden just let me know. In about a week I will have at least 80 seedling to give away. In fact, I can even help you plant them which is a very simple task.

The care and feeding of African Daisies is as easy as caring for a Pet Rock, if you remember those days. Plant the seedlings, water lightly now and again and just stand back to watch them grow … slowly at first. At the end of the season, you tear out the dead flowers and then early next spring you will observe seedlings growing all by themselves. It really is that easy.

So when you see me on Sunday, let’s talk Daisies in the Miles Neighborhood. I know you will be as pleased as Steve and that is really good for PACC.

Daisies Make the Difference

This week we donated 45.4 lbs. of pet food, 5 bullies sticks, a bag of soft chews and $61.25 in cash and one check.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 26 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

Halfway Home and 687.7 lbs. Ahead of Schedule

Haley sniffed most of the food items during the photo shoot

and then just sat and gazed at the money. I've seen humans

do that, too.

Our Rescued Critters Food Drive started on September 9, so we just completed our 26^th week meaning we’re now entering the home stretch. The goal, of course, is to donate 4,333 lbs. of pet food to PACC in one year. You’ll be happy to learn that to date we have donated 2,854.2 lbs. of pet food, with 2,166.5 lbs. being the actual halfway point.

I don’t know about you guys, but our results are incredibly motivating to me.

This week we donated 15.3 lbs. of pet food, a green hoodie and pink muzzle for a tiny pup, and $63.00 in cash and one check.
See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 25 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

Feeding is Turning into Fixing Them, Too.

A few months back, one of my neighbors asked me about getting her pup neutered. I mentioned Richard Fimbres told me about a free spay and neutering clinic coming up in February and I’d get her more information as soon as it was available.

In the first week of February I learned that there would be a free spay and neuter clinic at the Quincie Douglas Center at 36^th Street and Kino on the 16^th. My neighbor called, stood in line starting at 7:30 am and by the end of the day, her dog was good to go. The next Sunday she told me how happy she was with the process and how much money she saved.

The following Sunday, Roberto on Miles and Martin told me his daughter—who recently moved next door to his home—was having trouble with a number of feral cats because she was allergic. I offered to help and gave him my two traps. He has called me three times since then. Two already had their ear clipped and the third one will be fixed pet medical assistance. When it comes to cats, I have the traps and the cats are fixed for free. All you have to do is set the traps, entice the cats with a little tuna and then call me when the trap is occupied.

A couple of years ago Best Friends helped me catch and fix more than 15 cats in two days. That was a bit stressful so I am opting to fix a couple of cats each week. It takes longer but we will get them all.

So, talk to me on Sunday or just give me a call if you need to spay or neuter some feral cats or your family dog.

Collecting donations for PACC in the sunis just so muchmore fun.

Sunday marked the end of near freezing temperatures so everybody greeted me with a smile.

We collected four fluffy bath towels and 16.8 lbs. of pet food. The money amounted to $51.14 in cash and one check.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 24 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,
                    Happy Meeting, Indeed

Kristen Auerbach, Executive Director, Pima Animal

Care Center (left), Mayor Jonathan Rothschild,

Field Sergeant Bennett Simonsen, PACC and

Peter Norback.

The last meeting I had with Mayor Rothschild was July 23, 2012. That, too, was a happy meeting for One Can A Week, so I’m seeing a trend here.

The Mayor gave us a lot of his time and energy and opened the meeting with, “So what do you want from me?” The paper holding my agenda was turned over and we cut to the chase. At the end of some discussion we decided that Mayor Rothschild and Kristen Auerbach will select a few schools and a few corporations to initiate a pilot program for our “One Cent for One Minute of Community Service” fund raising idea.

After the meeting, I realized that I have been concentrating solely on fund-raising for PACC, I forgot about the school kids who may not have any money at all. That gave rise to the idea of “Teach One Minute for One Minute of Community Service.” As Burl, my friend and neighbor said when we talked Sunday, “That’s great because everybody has something.”

Kids teaching their classmates how to play video games, or dribble or skate or play an instrument, or math or science or anything where they are gaining skill and confidence will definitely build more empathy and a stronger community.
                          ___________________________________________________

Our Donations Make a Little Noise

PACC Facebook Post

“Peter Norbeck (sic) drops off a monetary donation to the shelter EVERY Monday. He also brings in other items like food.

“Since September he has donated a total of $1,435.36!!

“We just wanted to share a "THANK YOU" to Peter and all of you who donate your time, goods, or money to the shelter pets! We couldn't do it without you. Every donation, large or small, makes a difference!” 

When I dropped off our donation at PACC Monday, the associate said she was asked to take my photo for a Facebook post and would I mind? Of course, anything for PACC. Then she stood up and in a loud voice, asked the other associates at the counter for a camera. I had to donated that, too.

It was a nice surprise and perked up the rest of the day. Some hours later I found the post on their Facebook page and got a screen grab. Now you can see what your donations are generating … besides food for some hungry critters.

PS. There were more than a score of positive comments. Go check it out.

                          ____________________________________________________
    

Made a mistake and gave Haley and Cody a Bully Stick each just before I set up the photo shoot so no one was available for puppy window-dressing.

This week we donated 13.3 lbs. of pet food and $64.65 in cash and two checks.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 23 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

Sundays are Becoming and Exercise in Exercise ... and That's a Good Thing

The cat food cans, stacked 20 high on the right, was the first indication that we collected a whole lot of pet food Sunday. Those cans will feed 20 cats for one day. Then there were cold weather garments, including an aviation jacket and booties for a Cody-sized dog. Lastly, there was enough cash to buy one 52 lb. bag of Purina Dog Chow “with real chicken” for $21.98.

All that pet food weighed 92.3 lbs. In addition, we donated $27.76 in cash and one check.

Haley was disappointed the she could not get up on the table for the photo although she tried a number of runs up the plank. Cody saw the futility from the start and just sat there on the right.

Spoiler Alert

Encouraged by your consistent and generous donations to PACC every Sunday, folks are beginning to pay attention to how we’re building our Rescued Critters Food Drive. Next week you will read about a meeting schedule for today, February 12^th in the Mayor’s office.

In attendance will be Mayor Rothschild, of course, and Executive Director, Kristen Auerbach, and Field Sergeant Bennett Simonsen of the Pima Animal Care Center.

The agenda will focus on a program called “One Cent for One Minute of Community Service.” a kid donation program that mirrors how business executives support their favorite charities. In this age of parity, it is never too early to teach kids to emulate community-minded business leaders who have a very strong sense of service.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Week 22 - Rescued Critters Food Drive

Hi Folks,

Rainy Days and Sundays Always Lift Me Up

Third Truck Load

Rainy days are a time for reflection for me. Everything is calm. The trees, the streets and the air are being gently scrubbed and a misty face is probably the best feeling in the world.

Now to Sundays which are my special workday where I only do things that make me smile. For nearly a decade now I have been feeding hungry folks and pets in need. I don’t know about you, but in this land of everything, I haven’t missed a meal in my life. But there have been plenty of times where there was little to no money in my pocket. Mostly in my New York City days as an author. (They talk about starving authors but I wasn’t one of them.)

Fortunately, what I did have an abundance of was clever so I could always think of a way to find something nourishing to eat for me and my brother. Lots of folks don’t have that gift or talent or chutzpa ... whatever you want to call it, and they go hungry. 

When President Obama asked us all to get involved in community service, I was moved to help people and pets find food because that’s one thing I do best. There is another best thing and that is I don’t mind stepping outside my introverted writer personality to ask folks to help folks. Of course, it’s uncomfortable for a while, but hunger hurts more.

So, when it rained on my Sunday, it couldn’t have been a happier day for me. And, too, lots of folks were home trying to stay dry.

We donated 170 lbs. of dog and cat food and $16.30 in checks and cash to PACC. The three 52 lb. bags of Purina Chow cost $74.94 at Walmart or $24.98 each. Therefore, we collected a total of $91.24 in cash and checks which made for a very good rainy Sunday.

See you Sunday,

Peter