The Cyberactivist

Well, our drive to collect goods was highly successful. Most of them went to Shreveport, but the day after we held our drive, we found out that our county was getting several hundred people and that they needed bedding worse than anything. So, we pulled that out and saved it to deliver here at one of the distribution centers. Here are two pictures of me doing just that:



Me unloading bedding from the vehicle to carry in.



My second load of bedding being placed in the distribution center.

If you would like to see some more photos of how well our operation went and how much the citizens of Montgomery came together to donate needed items, they are loaded on my photo page here. The pics show not only what we did, but what the other citizens of the county have brought in.

As Montgomery County has most of what they need for now, we will be focusing on what they don't have in our next effort, which is towels, washcloths, and linens. That's what they told us they needed the most when we asked them yesterday.

Also, just last evening, we got a call from For the Sake of Animals, the no-kill shelter in Mena, calling on us to foster animals who will be killed by Animal Control if they could not find foster homes for them. They will be coming out tomorrow to inspect our facilities to see who is appropriate to bring out here. So, we will be getting our first batch of animals to take care of.

They also recently received a book called "One At a Time," which is about a week inside a shelter and contains the stories of the animals coming through, following some to happy endings and some to very sad endings from No Voice Unheard, which we had donated to them in Princess' name. It also contains a beautiful dedication to Princess (they sent us a copy, too), complete with her picture and our names. What a wonderful way to have your animal remembered and educate the public, as well as give the shelter workers something to read about their wonderful work, at the same time it emphasizes the plight of the millions of animals that pass through shelters each year and the importance of spaying and neutering your animal companions.

We are on Farm Sanctuary's list for receiving the chickens that they rescue after their negotiations with the farmers conclude, so the expansion is out next highest priority. We really and truly need some help here to help save more lives. As I think I mentioned before, right now we can only take in 12-20, but with that expansion built, we can take in 10 times that number and have a place set up for them and the ones already here to roam freely during the day. Any locals who may stumble across this post, please help us get this done. We need help getting the 12 ft. high fencing and putting it up as quickly as possible, as well as building the houses with yards for them to retire to at night for their protection. And for those not in our area, you can always come camp out with us on our riverbank and help! Or, if you can't do that, please support this effort financially so that we can buy the needed materials. Some of you have already done so, and we appreciate that very much, as will the chickens once they get to live there. If we get enough funding to do this, we thought it could be doubly useful in employing a few evacuees for a day or two to help put it up in a hurry, so we would not only be helping chickens but people, too. And at a time when they need it the most. We are sure some of them would love to have a day spent at the river and be fed a good vegan meal, as well as earn a bit of money for themselves. Otherwise, I will do it by myself, but it will take quite a bit longer, and I don't know how much longer I have until those chickens are ready to come. Once I get the word, I have to be ready to receive as many as we can. No time to wait!

Hopefully my chainsaw will be finished being fixed Monday so that I can start cutting the poles for the houses. Having our truck and saw go down at the same time has majorly hampered our efforts to jump-start this project. But we should get both back by Monday. Then, it is full speed ahead. We will go as far as we can with what we have, even if we can't get it all done at once. Then, as more funding and/or materials (and possibly, hopefully, even more hands!) arrive, we will continue the expansion until it is finished.

We will be very busy around here over the next few days, and I will be mostly absent from the computer as I work very hard to make all of this a reality, only checking in early in the morning as we have our coffee. so if I don't answer an email immediately, you will understand why. I will also be unable to keep up with the postings to the groups for a little bit until things get back to normal (what's that? ha ha!) and I have more time to get back to my online work.

Our tents are still available for evacuees with their animals of any species or just those willing to come and help out with the building. We would very much appreciate any help anyone can offer, and we promise to feed you good vegan food! You can even swim in the river to your heart's content after the work in the morning, as we take a break during the heat of the day. :)

Well, I'm about done with my coffee, and it is getting light enough to see now, so I want to get started ASAP while it is still cool (in the low 60's), so I will now sign off and get ready to bust my butt off getting ready for the influx of animals.

Have a good day, everyone.