SaL10 - Ann Lindholm

Save a Life Drive 2010!

Dear Friends and Family,

As y'all know I've been volunteering for Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) for over two years and now manage the Dog Foster program. APA! is a non-profit organization and our mission is to make Austin a no-kill city. We have made great progress already - over the past two years we've saved over 5,000 dogs and cats from impending euthanasia! You probably also know that APA! is run almost exclusively by volunteers, including every member of my 20 person Dog Foster team. We depend entirely on donations to fund our programs, supplies, and operational expenses and several of you have already generously given to our organization.

The reason that I am writing now is that APA! is launching it's second annual Save A Life Donation Drive. I was hesitant to participate as I did not want to pressure any of my friends or family to feel obligated to give to APA! However, I know that many of you are as passionate as I am about giving these homeless animals a second chance and some of you have asked how you can help. So I decided to put this out there for anyone who would like to participate. It is very similar to a marathon pledge (except I won't be running anywhere!). If you would like to help me raise my personal goal you can sponsor me in any amount ($1-$1,000) by making a donation between now and October 15th, 2010 at (Your Razoo Link Here) All proceeds go directly to Austin Pets Alive! and are tax-deductible.

I've attached a photo of one of my recent foster dogs (with my dog Blue), Trapper, now named Max. This is what his adoptive mom wrote me after he went home with them: "My new, adopted mom woke up thinking about you this morning, hoping that you're not missing me too much and are happy knowing that I'm going to be part of a young family in central Austin. I'm still sleeping this morning, but my boy just woke up and told his mom ‘I think we got the best dog ever." And later she wrote..."The kids have taken to reading to him every night. Last night, I overheard them hugging him and telling him that he's one of the most important "people" in their lives." And later she wrote, "...As you can tell, we love him. Several times a week, we all sit around talking about how he really is the best dog in the world. Thanks for all that you did to protect him. I overheard Luke telling his friends the other day, "Max's foster mom saved his life so that he could wait and join our family." Brought big tears to my eyes." And it still brings tears to my eyes!

I want to stress that you should feel free to just delete this e-mail without guilt. But if you are considering making any annual charitable donations I just wanted to suggest the option of donating to APA! In our case you can be sure that every dollar goes directly to the care of the dogs and cats that we save. Thanks so much for considering this, and for all the support that so many of you have provided to me and to APA! Sincerely,

Ann Lindholm APA! Volunteer