Friends of Charlton Animal Shelter (F.O.C.A.S.)

THANK YOU!
F.O.C.A.S. would like to thank the following individuals, organizations, and businesses for their donations and support!

Friends of Charlton Animal Shelter thanks all who participated in this past Saturday's giant yard sale in Charlton! $692 was raised for FOCAS! Construction continues and we can still use help. We are also seeking a membership coordinator - computer skills necessary. Please email us if you are interested - info@focascharlton.org.

Maia celebrated her 10th birthday recently and instead of asking for gifts for herself, she asked her friends to bring presents for the Charlton dogs and cats! WOW did they do a great job! Dog and cat food, treats, bowls, and toys were donated! The kids also made a monetary donation! FOCAS President Ernie Stokes and Assistant ACO Lisa Westwell came by to personally thank her and accept these awesome goodies. Even Maia's dog Rosie jumped in for a picture. FOCAS and Charlton Animal Control would like to send meows and howls of thanks to Maia R., Diana and Marci G., Briana J., Dana F., and Julia D.!!

Trivial Pursuit Night raises over $500 for Friends of Charlton Animal Shelter! The senior center was bursting with 6 teams of 45 brainiacs working together to come up with the correct answers to 100 tough trivia questions. "The Monarchs" took first place in a tight race for the win! A BIG thank you goes out to everyone who came out to play and especially to Jamie Kordack for organizing the event and Elaine Kingston for the use of the Senior Center!

The Quinebaug Masonic Lodge coordinated a pet food drive for the Charlton Animal Shelter through F.O.C.A.S. and for other local animal shelters in conjunction with their rededication ceremony on March 27, 2010. The dogs and cats appreciate all the donations of dog and cat food, and cat litter from the Masons and the local community.

Friends of Charlton Animal Shelter (FOCAS) was thrilled to be chosen as the recipient of two recent Cinderella Project event fundraisers! The discounted dress and gown sales were a big hit in the local communities! Huge thank you to the Cinderella Project coordinator, Diane Doherty, and her team of volunteers: Fritzi Foster, Lisa St. Cyr, Chris Mitchell, Karen Sawyer, JoAnn and Amy Kady, Amy's friend Jen, Lisa and Julia Westwell, Haley Chamberlain, and Heidi Weber! FOCAS would also like to thank the following Cinderella Project sponsors: Bonardi's (Sturbridge, MA), Excape Salon (Worcester, MA), Gander Limo and Transport Service (Charlton, MA), and Kathy's Garden Treasurers (Charlton, MA). Finally, we'd like to extend our sincere appreciation to Leicester High School who invited the Cinderella Project to set up at their Prom Fashion Show! All combined, this unique fundraiser was a lot of fun and raised $540 for FOCAS!

F.O.C.A.S. would like to thank John and Ruth of Wild Brook Farm, Jessica Chickering, and Amanda Shelby for supporting us through their Feb. 28th Natural Horsemanship Clinic! Enjoy the slide show of some of the booths, and the horses and their riders that came to learn Jessica's natural training techniques! The following individuals volunteered their time and energy to put on this excellent clinic: Jessica Chickering, Amanda Shelby, John DeRose, Ruth Oconnell, Kate Zepp, Pat Zepp, Jim Laliberte, Andy Bowes, Frank Magiera, Kayla MacCarthy, McCarthy family, and Nichole Santon. Thank you to all of you!

F.O.C.A.S. sends sincerest thanks to Sheri Bibinski, Sabrina Webb, and the other great employees at Southbridge Savings Bank! They organized and held a colorful and fun Valentine's Day Pet Photo event for us on Feb. 6th that raised a whopping $390!! We appreciate their thoughtfulness, enthusiasm and support!! Enjoy the slide show of some of the pets that came to have their photos taken!

BIG THANKS to Jill Spillane who recently had her birthday party and asked all her friends to bring gifts to donate to F.O.C.A.S. for the dogs and cats under the care of Charlton Animal Control! They brought dog food, cat food, kitten food, dog and cat toys and treats, towels, beds, and bowls! BOW WOW and MEOW to this generous group of kids!!

And the Winner Is...Trudy Torbicz of Charlton! Congratulations to Trudy, the winner of the Friends of Charlton Animal Shelter Raffle. Trudy won a pet themed basket filled with dog and cat toys, supplies, and treats valued at $100. The basket was generously donated by Country Bank. BIG thanks to the Fabric Stash in Charlton (fabricstashinc.com) for selling raffle tickets on behalf of F.O.C.A.S. We hope that in addition to buying raffle tickets, visitors found lots of beautiful fabrics for their sewing and quilting needs! The raffle brought in $135 in much needs funds for F.O.C.A.S.

Cat & Fiddle Family Childcare Blanket Collection

Friends of Charlton Animal Shelter (F.O.C.A.S.) would like to thank the children at Cat & Fiddle Family Childcare of Charlton for their recent donation of blankets for the animals! This was the third year that they collected items for animals in local shelters. They decided to gather their old blankets to donate and their cozy receiving blankets proved to be the perfect size, especially for the cats! With the cold weather upon us, it is great that the children, and their thoughtful provider Michelle Leufstedt, remembered the comfort of the animals. Ruffs and purrs to Cat & Fiddle Family Childcare!

Thanks to Quinebaug Masonic Lodge for their October 17th pet food drive!

Thanks to Kelsey T., Julia W., and Haley C. for helping out with the F.O.C.A.S. booth at Charlton's Old Home Day on September 7, 2009!

Thanks to David LeBlanc and Madison Prunier! They set up the Happy Time Hot Dog Stand on August 18, 2009 and all proceeds were donated to F.O.C.A.S.!

Tall Pine Farm and Kennel
Their raffle raised $280 for FOCAS! Many blankets also donated!

Donna Savoie
Pack of Paws Dog Training for hosting a Family Dog Class.

Ken Gaudette
Gaudette Building Exteriors, Inc. for donating the space for our dog training classes!

The Quinebaug Masonic Lodge coordinated a pet food drive for the Charlton Animal Shelter through F.O.C.A.S. and for other local animal shelters. The dogs and cats appreciate the generous donations of dry and canned dog food, dog treats and cookies, dry and canned cat food, and litter, from the Masons and the local community.

Lodge Ambassador, Christopher M. St. Cyr, helped distribute the donations and is pictured left with the pile of goodies for the animals!