Fundraising from a supporter's point of view

We often have supporters fundraise on our behalf as they undertake a challenge or sporting event. Assaf came to us with his story and we wanted to share it with you. It is a lovely thing that have such supportive... supporters! I guess that's why we call them that, eh?

Take it away, Assaf:

My dog is a Border-Collie / Great Dane Cross, saved from a rescue shelter when he was 6 months old. In the 7 years since, I’ve regularly donated to the shelter, and after relocating to the UK, I wanted to do the same for a local shelter. When I heard about the London to Paris challenge, I knew I wanted to raise money for a dog charity and I chose the Dogs Trust. This event embodies two passions of mine: helping stop animal abuse and cycling.

During the months of training, I found raising donations for the Dogs Trust to be the hardest part of getting ready. Sadly the horror stories we read in the papers almost every day are not enough to push people to help. Not a lot of people understand how big an impact a dog can have on a family’s life. Caring for a dog is just like adopting a child only it’s four-legged, furry and licks instead of kisses.

This is where the Dogs Trust comes in, to help these lost children find a safe and happy home, and this is why I decided to dedicate this ride to this cause.

Please help by sponsoring me at: www.justgiving.com/assaf-flatto. Or just read up on my progress at: http://blog.flatto.net/.

Good luck, Assaf!

Could you spare any stamps?

Our lovely 'stamp lady' Jenny Thomas raises pounds for our hounds by sorting and selling stamps! 

Find out how YOU can help, and how well Jenny has done so far this year - here.

Dinner4Good: Come Dine With Me for Charity?

Recently Jacqui and I met Bryan Sergeant, an enthusiastic whirlwind of energy behind new fundraising service Dinner4Good. We were so impressed, we pretty much signed Dogs Trust up on the spot.

The idea behind Dinner4Good is that you have a dinner party (or tea party, barbeque or any other type of foodie hosted occasion) and instead of bringing a bottle or gift, guests make a donation to a charity of the host's choice. Dinner4Good's website does all the donation handling, Gift Aid - which means an extra 28p per £1 to the charity if you're a UK taxpayer - and even the invitations. All you need to do is throw a great party.

Here are some ideas we've been bouncing around the office for making your event go with a bang:

• Come Dine With Me: In these credit-crunchy times, more people are cooking at home and inviting friends over anyway. Why not take it a step further and mimic popular competitive dining TV show Come Dine With Me, making it into a competition? Instead of marking friends out of 10, you could give them a donation of £1 for every point, competing to earn the most for your chosen charities.

• Themes: Themes could be anything from clothes, to decor to foods from around the world. If you're organising a Dogs Trust themed party, get creative with cheap and cheerful decorations. We used (new and unused!) dog bowls for nibbles at our Dogs Trust Honours reception to great effect. Or if you have a bone-shaped cookie cutter, you could make some excellent shaped finger foods.
  
  Another option could be to have the do for your canine friends too - have a picnic in the park with your walking group and bring along a few extra homemade treats for the four-legged members of the group. The extra effort has got to be worth a few extra pennies in donations...
  
  
• Monthly challenges: If the first party is a roaring success, why not turn it into a regular event with the host chosing a new charity every month? It's cheaper than going out, just as much fun and you can know that while you're enjoying yourselves you're helping animals - or people - all over the world.
  

So why not hold a Dinner4Good party for Dogs Trust? You can have a fab time with your friends in the knowledge that just £2.50 donated by your guests can feed one of the dogs in our care for a week.

If you do host a party, let us know how it goes! We'd love photos and blog posts to inspire others with.

Canine Carer: My life as a dog in kennels!

If any 19-year-old told you they'd be spending the weekend hanging out in their house with friends, you probably wouldn't find it unusual. Unless of course that 'house' is a Dogs Trust kennel and their mates have four legs each...

Big-hearted canine carer Tom spends his days providing dedicated care to the residents of Dogs Trust Salisbury's kennels, but from the 18th to the 20th of July he'll be living like one of his charges!

He's appealing for sponsors to dig deep and support him as he spends 48 hours living the kennel life. To make the experience as authentic as possible, he'll sleep in an extra-large dog bed and eat only chicken and rice, similar to dogs on a speical diet. Though there'll be a few dog toys to keep him occupied, he won't be allowed his mobile phone or iPod.

Tom explains:

"I've always loved dogs, so I was very excited to start working at Dogs Trust last November. Since then, I've gained a greater appreciation of what stray and abandoned dogs experience while they're waiting for a new home. I came up with this idea to draw people's attention to what they go through and also to raise funds for the dogs in our care."

To sponsor Tom, just drop by his JustGiving page: http://www.justgiving.com/tomcliftonmoore/. He's set a target of £1,000, so please do feel free to post the appeal on your blog, Facebook page, Twitter feed or anywhere else you'd like.

I for one love this unusual idea, and hope Tom smashes his target as well as encouraging people to rehome a dog.

Good luck, Tom!