Day 162: Toronto Cat Rescue Bowl-a-thon

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 162: Toronto Cat Rescue Bowl-a-thon

It’s that time of the year again. The Toronto Cat Rescue (TCR) is hosting their annual Bowl-a-thon to raise funds for the cats and kittens of Toronto.

Since Dieter and I love both cats and bowling, we registered for this event and are active fundraisers.

The first year we took part, our group was very small, and the organization barely raised $6,000. Last year, the group counted over 200 people and we raised over $40,000.

How does the Toronto Cat Rescue? It’s not a cat shelter in the traditional sense of the word. Cats are not housed in cages, but rather with foster families, their picture is taken and displayed on the TCR website, after which the cats are up for adoption.

The organization needs money though. Before each cat or kittens goes to their new home, they are spayed/neutered. If a cat or kitten is sick, it’s taken to a veterinarian.

If you can spare a few dollars, I would kindly ask you to make a donation. This can be done in three ways:

Canada Helps:

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/toronto-cat-rescue/p2p/bowlathon2019/team/paws-claws/captain/conny-manero/

My PayPal account:

conny.manreo@gmail.com

or via a bank transfer.

A donation of $20 or more will get you a tax receipt.

The cats and kittens of Toronto are counting on you and thank you in advance.

Day 106: Toronto Cat Rescue Bowl-a-thon

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 106: Toronto Cat Rescue Bowl-a-thon

Some time in March, the invitation arrived to register for the Toronto Cat Rescue’s 14^th annual Bowl-a-thon. I immediate replied and registered Dieter and myself with the team name ‘Alley Cats’.

The only requirement to join the Bowl-a-thon was that each participant had to raise a minimum of $100. That’s not much, you might think, but you’d be surprised how tight-fisted people are where it comes to donating.

Other than that, I hate asking people for money, especially people I don’t know. But for the good of the cats, I bit the bullet and in the end, I raised quite a considerable sum.

Then last Saturday was the big event. Over 100 cat lovers made their way to Kennedy Bowl for the Bowl-a-thon. Everyone handed over their donations, were issued a purple T-shirt, along with a tail and cat ears and made their way to the lanes. What a sight it was, purple as far as the eye could see.

The goal was to raise $30,000. In previous years we fell short of that goal by a few thousand. This year we not only met the goal, we exceeded it and raised over $37,000 for the kitties.

As for the actual Bowl-a-thon … Dieter took 1^st place while I came in 2^nd. We received prizes that are kitties are very pleased with. 

Gabriel, Charlotte, Holly and Halley now have two brand new cat baskets, plenty of toys scented with catnip, and a variety of cat food. For us humans, there was a bright pink tote bag, a cat book, coffee, coffee cups, and other goodies.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, let these speak for themselves:

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Day 95: 2 birds + 4 cats =

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 95: 2 birds + 4 cats =

After a long and cold winter, it’s finally spring. Not that it feels like spring, it’s still rather cold (4 deg C) and a fierce wind blows around the building. From the sound of it, a small tornado is on the lose.

The birds are not bothered by the chilly, windy weather, they’re busy building nests for their young and just like last year, a couple of finches have selected our balcony. I don’t mind of course. I love that this cute couple has chosen part of our home, but do they have to make such a racquet while they’re building their nest?

From 6:00 a.m. onward all I hear is a constant twittering. Either the two finches sing as they work, or they give each other instructions how to build.

I can just imagine papa finch assuming the role of supervisor, telling mama finch “You’re doing it wrong. Don’t put that twig there, put it over there and make sure it’s nice and tight.” Or, mama finch is not happy with the work papa finch is doing and is complaining “That doesn’t look good. Here let me. Do I have to do everything myself to have it done right? Men!”

Meanwhile, Holly and Halley sit by the window quietly observing the finches, waiting for me to let them outside. Not that I even consider it because with this cold weather that would not be a good idea. The last time Holly went out in February, she got sick and it cost us a small fortune on vet visits. She stays in until the temperature hits double digits.

So, Holly and Halley sit there, talking to each other, no doubt making plans to catch the birds. I can just imagine them saying “I want that one and you can have the other one.”

When Charlotte and Gabriel walk past, they give the birds a mere cursorily glance. Both of them are laid back cats with a live and let live attitude. I can well imagine them thinking ‘Why go through all that trouble of catching a bird? All that stalking, running and jumping. There’s food in the kitchen.’

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/toronto-cat-rescue-bowl-a-thon-9/ 

Day 94: Toronto Cat Rescue Bowl-a-thon

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 94: Toronto Cat Rescue Bowl-a-thon

It’s that time of the year again. The time when the Toronto Cat Rescue (TCR) organizes a Bowl-a-thon to raise money for the cats of Toronto.

The Toronto Cat Rescue is not a cat shelter in the traditional sense of the word but rather a series of foster homes where cat lovers care for kittens and cats, waiting to be adopted.

After prospective parents are interviewed and evaluated and before the kittens and cats go to their forever homes, they are spayed/neutered. TCR also traps feral cats, have them spayed/neutered before they are set free again.

When I first started fundraising for TCR, 11 years ago, we were a small group of bowlers who barely took up five lanes and raised + $6,000. Last year the group had close to 200 participants and we raised just under $25,000. This year our aim is $30,000.

This year, for the first time since the start of the Toronto Cat Rescue Bowl-a-thon, the event takes place at Kennedy Bowl on May 5th. Other years the Bowl-a-thon was held in Toronto's west end, in bowling alleys where we had to take two or even three trains, followed by a short or long walk.

Several times I suggested to the organizers to give Kennedy Bowl a try and this year I finally got my wish. Goes to show that perseverance pays off.

If you care to help simply visit https://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/toronto-cat-rescue-bowl-a-thon-9/ or if you prefer, you can donate via my PayPal account at conny.manero@gmail.com

For Kennedy Bowl bowlers there will be a donation box at the control counter shortly.

I'm not asking for a fortune, even $1 or $2 will make a difference. That’s less than a cup of coffee and your donation will help save a life.

The kitties of Toronto and I thank you.

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/toronto-cat-rescue-bowl-a-thon-9/ 

Will you help?

Asking people for money is never easy. But where it comes to cats’ well-being I have no scruples. So, once a year I ask everyone I know, and even some I don’t know, for a donation to the Toronto Cat Rescue Bowl-a-ton fundraiser. I’m not asking for much, $1, $2, whatever people want to give (although donations of $20 or more get a tax receipt). Now I can imagine that some people might think, “Why should I care, there are homeless cats in my neighborhood.” And you would be right, why should you care.” If you’re supporting a local cat shelter, I think that’s wonderful, homeless cats can use all the help they can get. But if you think about it, if you’re already donating to one cat shelter, why not one more? A little donation is not going to break the bank. I’m not selling tickets that cost $100, $50 or even $25 a piece, I’m asking for a donation you’re comfortable with, even if it’s only $1. If twenty people give $1, that makes $20 and those $20 pay for twenty cans or more of food. Let me tell you a bit more about the Toronto Cat Rescue. This cat shelter is not a regular shelter where cats sit in cages and are euthanized when nobody wants them. The shelter isn’t even a shelter as such, but a series of foster homes where cats and kittens end up, waiting to be adopted. Not that just anyone can adopt a cat. Adoptive parents are screened so the kitties go to a really loving home. In the meantime the cats and kittens who are housed at these foster homes need food and are spayed/neutered to prevent pregnancies and more homeless cats. All this costs money, and that’s where the donations come in. http://savecatsfromthegutter.com/about-tcr/ For twelve years the Toronto Cat Rescue has been raising funds for their kitties and personally I’ve been involved for ten years. In the beginning there were only about six teams and we raised only $3,000, but over the years the fundraiser has grown and now we’re aiming at raising $20,000. Several large organizations donate prices to the Bowl-a-ton and several individuals reward supporters with their own gifts. Personally I give everyone who donates the choice between one of these hand colored pictures. All the person has to do is contact me atconny.manero@gmail.com, specify the amount donated and tell me the picture of his/her preference, and it will be emailed to them. So what’d you think ... can you spare a dollar or two to support the kitties who need your help? It doesn’t matter if you’re not from Toronto, in the past, donations have been received from Dallas, New York, Last Vegas, Chicago, St. Louis, Sidney, Perth, Dublin, Zermat, Bonn, Lyon, Toulouse, and more. You can donate through my PayPal account atconny.manero@gmail.com or throughhttps://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/toronto-cat-rescue/bowlathon/team/grumpycats/ For inspiration, please view a few pictures from last year's event. 0 Comments Leave a Reply.