Dear Friends of Golden Oldies,
It’s hard to believe that just 4 ½ short years ago Golden Oldies started with a dream, a handful of volunteers and no funding.
But thanks to all of you, we’ve helped 86 cats since that day in June 2016 when we came together with a vision of making Monterey County a better and safer place for older cats.
It would be an understatement to say that 2020 was a challenging year. COVID-19 has touched all of us in some way and changed our lives.
But despite everything, Golden Oldies was able to continue its lifesaving work during 2020.
The credit goes to each and every one of you.
Whether you donated, fostered or volunteered in some other capacity, YOU were the reason for our success in 2020.
We just wrapped up an amazing Monterey County Gives! fundraising campaign. A total of 358 donors (105 of whom were NEW) gave a combined $55,271 during the 50-day campaign. It was by far our most successful of the four campaigns we’ve participated in. Last year we raised $34,525 from 267 donors. We ranked seventh for number of donors and 39th for total donations out of the 162 participating non-profits in the 2020 campaign. We are amazed and humbled by the generosity of those who live near and far (we even had donors from the East Coast!) – especially in these financially and emotionally challenging times.
And that generosity does not just happen during MCGives! It happens all year.
In 2020 with your support, we were able to:
- Start a Matchmaker Program, where we provide financial assistance if someone is the perfect match but cannot afford to adopt.
- Take in 22 cats and complete 22 adoptions – some with waived or reduced fees.
- Provide dental and other medical care for our foster cats, including 12 ½ year-old Missy, who currently is in foster care as a Matchmaker Cat looking for a special adoptive home where her person is around much of the time. Because she is a Matchmaker cat, Golden Oldies will pay for Missy’s medical care for life.
- Assist surrendering guardians with the cost of the medical care that we ask be completed prior to intake.
- Start a Temporary Emergency Foster Care Program for guardians of our surrendered cats.
- Form a pen pal partnership with residents of Del Monte Assisted Living in Pacific Grove.
We have grown to about 70 active volunteers and almost 700 donors in 4 ½ years. We also have two part-time paid staff members who combine to work up to 30 hours a week and run our intake, foster and adoption programs.
Intakes have slowed down as we start 2021 and we currently have several open foster homes. Missy and Panchito, 13, are both waiting patiently for their forever homes.
We are excited for 2021 and very grateful for your support!
Best Wishes for a happy, healthy and safe 2021.
Stay Healthy and Choose Happy,
Margaret Slaby
Founder/Director
Golden Oldies Cat Rescue
