Today, the winners of the Animal Rescue Site Shelter Challenge were announced...and Friends of Strays was one of them! FOS won the Illinois State prize of $1,000 for being the shelter with the most votes in the State. Those daily votes that moved us up in ranking came from our supporters, and for that, we can't say "thank you" enough! Without you, we wouldn't have won it! Your support helps Friends of Strays continue its humane work rescuing animals, providing medical and direct animal care, and promoting adoptions and humane education.

A new Shelter Challenge will be starting in January, and FOS is ready for it to begin...we know we can WIN!

The complete list of winners can be found here:
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3&adId=88460&placementId=235687

Thank you for your continued support!

Friends of Strays

The holidays are nearly here as is MarkAllen's holiday benefit for Friends of Strays -- the MarkAllen's 2nd Annual Gingerbread House Contest!

Whether it is a Country Cottage, Santa's Workshop, a stately Victorian, or a Castle, all are welcome if they are gingerbread creations! From simple to complex, building with gingerbread brings out the creativity in all of us -- especially when that creativity benefits the animals at Friends of Strays Shelter.

Here's how it works. Any individual or group may submit a gingerbread house or houses by November 23, 2011, at MarkAllen's in Peru, IL. They can be created from kits or from scratch -- your imagination is the limit. They do not have to be completely edible, but the base has to be gingerbread. Be creative...perhaps with a theme, for example, a house boat on the Illinois River? or a "Life in the Great Outdoors" cabin, or even a Christmas Cottage with Santa at the chimney!

On November 24th, MarkAllen's will open the Gingerbread House display to the public. Admirers will be encouraged to vote for their favorites by placing a vote ticket (available from servers or at the bar) into the canisters adjacent to each Gingerbread creation. Each vote costs $1. and all voting proceeds will go to Friends of Strays! The Gingerbread Houses will be on display until December 29th. At that time, the votes will be counted and the contributor of the winning Gingerbread House will get a $100. MarkAllen's Gift Certificate! The winner will be announced around January 10th.

What kind of Gingerbread House will you create this holiday season? Will it have a dog frolicking with kids building a snowman out front, or, a cat peering out through a window? These sweet creations will brighten your holidays and the futures of the pets at Friends of Strays.

To arrange your Gingerbread drop-off at MarkAllen's please call the restaurant at 815-220-0642 or call the Shelter at 815-872-7387.

A new Animal Rescue Site Shelter Challenge began on July 4th. While FOS has always been near the top of Illinois ranking, it seems that our state is very competitive; big city and suburban shelters have turned out the vote repeatedly. This time, it's our turn.

Friends of Strays ranks 2nd in state and 29th nationally, only 19 points behind the Illinois state-vote leading shelter. Our shelter could actually go all the way this time -- to the top statewide...and nationally! Help us win this much-needed grant award. It's easy, quick and FREE.

You can help in two ways.

First, vote every day. It's easy. Simply go to: www.theanimalrescuesite.com

Click on the purple "button" that automatically generates free pet food for shelters -- paid for by site sponsors.
The next screen will thank you for clicking. On that page, click on the button at the top that says "vote today."
This will bring you to a "fill in the blanks" screen. Type in Friends of Strays and use the drop-down menu to select "IL" as the shelter's location.
The next screen will show you information, expanded with more detail, indicating "Princeton, IL." Click the "Vote" "button" -- this gets you to a confirmation screen.
Simply type in the confirmation code that will display on your screen and enter.
Your computer will now display a screen that thanks you for your vote.

It's that EASY and takes less than a minute. Vote one minute for humane rescue and rehabilitation every day and just maybe, working together, we'll bring that monetary award home to central Illinois.

Second, ask and remind friends and family to vote every day. Ask them to sign-up for the daily reminders option on The Animal Rescue Site.

If you have access to more than one computer, please cast your daily vote on each machine.

We are so very excited about the possibilities of this award. Let's make it a reality together!

We’re helping pets and creating a better environment at the same time! Friends of Strays is now part of Terracycle, an organization that uses recyclable materials to create reusable products. Friends of Strays receives a donation from Terracycle for each piece of recycling collected. The more we collect the more Friends of Strays pets benefit and we need your help!

How it works:
1. You collect items listed below. To make your collecting easy, save recycling in a large zip lock bag. Bring them to Friends of Strays Animal Shelter located behind the Road Ranger Truck Stop.

2. Friends of Strays ships your items to Terracycle, who recycles it into reusable products.

3. Friends of Strays receives a donation for each item recycled.

What to collect:
- Any empty Mars/Wrigley and Cadbury candy package or wrapper.
- All empty Frito Lay bags or wrappers.
- All empty Papermate or Sharpie pens, markers and highlighters.
- Energy bar wrappers such as Clif bars or Odwalla bars.

If you see the Terracycle logo on the package, we can recycle it!

For more information, call us at (815) 872-7387.

Grant-Johnson Funeral Home and ServiceMaster of Princeton, are sponsoring a pet food and supply drive to support Friends of Strays. Starting November 1st through November 20th, donated items can be dropped off at the following locations in Princeton:

Grant Johnson Funeral Home, 30 W. Mechanic Street
ServiceMaster, 123 W. Progress Drive
Sullivan’s Foods
Bureau County Metro Center
Bureau Valley Veterinary Service
Princeton Chamber of Commerce

In addition, the new families of the first 20 pets adopted during that time period will receive a free bottle of spot remover donated by the Grant-Johnson Funeral Home and ServiceMaster.

A new Challenge kicks off of September 20th, also. If you haven't signed up for daily reminders, please do! It takes less than a minute to sign up, and less than a minute to vote for the Shelter every day. Sponsors are giving away even more money to winning shelters. It seems that Illinois is one of the most competitive states! FOS has come so very close to winning the state cash prize every year. Please help us win this Challenge. Vote every day to help the animals. And spread the word to friends and family.

Go to: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com and vote for FOS!

We're on Ebay.com and 100% of the proceeds to directly to FOS. Even Ebay.com isn't charging fees! Help us help the animals!

Go to www.ebay.com
Scroll down -- you'll see "Giving Works" along the left side.
Click "Giving Works," then type in Friends of Strays in the “Non Profit” search box.
You'll be taken to the Friends of Strays page...here you click "View."
Now you can shop. And payment is easy and safe with Paypal.
Bookmark the page and check back often -- new items are regularly added.
Or go to: http://donations.ebay.com/charity/charity.jsp?NP_ID=40456 and save the link in your favorites!

This is a wonderful opportunity to help the shelter. Remember, 100% goes to the Shelter AND Ebay refunds all costs.

If you have items that you think might sell on ebay, donate them to the Shelter, and get a charitable tax deduction. Just remember that items should be easy to ship...new or gently used clothes/shoes, movies, toys, purses/wallets, books, jewelry, craft and scrapbooking items, collectibles, and holiday items. Call the Shelter at 815-872-7387 if you'd like to donate.

New for 2010, "CD Jewel Case Calendars" filled with beautiful photos of FOS pets. Perfect gifts for teachers, youth leaders, coworkers, holiday grab bags, friends and family. Easy to wrap, useful and fun to give – and get! Order yours today by emailing us, or by calling the shelter at 815-872-7387.

CLOSEOUT: Now only $5.00 each!

We have sold out of the calendars. Many thanks to everyone who purchased one for your support!

If you love golf or if you love pets or if you support animal rescue work, then the John Deere PGA Classic, beginning July 5th, in East Moline, should be penciled in your calendar! As part of this multi-million dollar event, John Deere and other business sponsors, are financially supporting the ―Birdies for Charity‖ program. This year, Friends of Strays is a registered John Deere charity; with your help, the shelter can receive a cash award, and you can have a chance to win one of more than a hundred prizes, -- the top prize, a NEW CAR!

In a few weeks, Friends of Strays will send out Birdies for Charity Pledge cards. You'll have an opportunity to make a one-time donation to Friends of Strays, or, you can pledge pennies (or more!) for birdies. For every birdie in this year's John Deere Golf Tournament, you pledge would be the total number of those birdies multiplied by the penny amout you pledge. Last year, 1,914 birdies were scored in the Tournament. If you had pledged one penny for each of those birdies for FOS, your total pledge would be $19.14; two cents per birdie scored -- $38.28, and so on.

When you pledge -- either as a single donation, or as a pledge amount based on birdies -- you'll also be asked to make your best guess on the number of birdies that you think will be scored in the 2010 Tournment, July 5th through 11th, 2010. First prize for the correct number of birdies scored is a new car! Other prizes include a John Deere riding mower and more than 100 other wonderful prizes.

Absolutely 100 percent of all donations pledged to FOS will be given to FOS; John Deere assumes all promotional and administrative costs. Every dollar donated goes to the designated charity. In 2009, the Tournament raised more than $4.63 million dollars for 500 local and regional charities.

The birdie number for Friends of Strays is 1689. Watch for your pledge cards.

For complete rules, and information on the Tournament, go to: http://www.birdiesforcharity.com While you're visiting the site, look at the Birdie Tournament history and decide on your best guess for the number of Birdies in this year's Tournament.

The John Deere Birdies for Charity organization offers a special bonus donation for non-profits who participate every year; this bonus is based on the dollar amount of pledges received in the previous Birdies for Charity year. Let's make our first year a foundation to build on. If you do not receive you pledge card by mid-May, please email or call the Shelter at (815) 872-7387.

Working together, we can really make pennies count!