- IMPORTANT NOTICE-
August 1, 2022: After much thought and discussion, our FRIENDS board decided that it was time to dissolve our non-profit organization. Friends Of The Animals was formed in 2010 and, since that time our organization held many successful fundraising events. During the pandemic these events could not take place and now the board has decided that trying to revive them would be a futile effort. This, in part, was a major reason for our decision to dissolve and disperse our remaining funds to a number of our previously supported animal non-profits.
While we are sad to let our non-profit go, this is also a time that we can reflect back with pride on all we have been able to do to help needy and homeless animals in Jackson and surrounding areas. Our Pets For Veterans campaigns resulted in the adoptions of 81 dogs and 47 cats for a total of 128 success stories at no cost to the veterans. We paid for medicines as well as special surgeries for many animals as well as sponsoring hundreds of spay/neuters to help curb the overpopulation of unwanted animals. Over the years we raised close to $400,000 to be used for the betterment of animals in our area with the highlight of being able to put an addition on to the Jackson County Animal Shelter in June 2018, which is a state-of-the-art Cat Habitat. (Click "Cat Habitat Photos" above to view the build.) Please go to the "Our Donations" pages on this website if you would like to read more about what our organization was able to do for the people and animals in our community.
We of course would not have been able to accomplish all that we were able to do without the support of our volunteers, special Grants and Foundations, and all of the wonderful people and businesses that supported us with their time and donations. We are grateful for all the old and new friends we have met through the years and appreciate your support. We thank you and the animals thank you too..... together, we have made a difference!
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June 21, 2022: Recently Friends Of The Animals was able to help support Cascades Humane Society's spay/neuter program by donating $5,000.00 that we received from a grant from The Samuel Higby Camp Foundation. We are grateful for the opportunity to receive this grant which gives us the ability to help stop unwanted feline pregnancies in the Jackson Area.
We also would like to thank the Kroger Community Rewards Program and the Kroger shoppers who helped make our latest quarterly check of $88.22 possible. This money has been deposited into our treasury so we can assist with more animal needs in Jackson County.
March 2, 2022: While Friends hasn't been able to run any fundraisers during the Covid-19 crisis, we still have found ways to financially support some important programs. As mentioned below, thanks to the Samuel Higby & Margaret H. Camp Fund, we were able to sponsor a successful Pets For Veterans campaign at the Jackson County Animal Shelter and Cascades Humane Society simultaneously. Fifteen well-deserving animals moved on to loving homes and we were able to honor our local veteran's by paying their adoption fees. More information can be found in the "Our Donations" section of the website.
In addition to the above, we continued to fund the "Forgotten Felines" project at Cascades Humane Society as well as pay for necessary inoculations for 100 feral cats after they were spayed or neutered at the shelter. More information can be found in the "Our Donations" section.
Last, but not least, we would like to again thank Kroger and their Community Rewards Program in addition to all the wonderful Kroger shoppers that support Friends Of The Animals through this program. We will be receiving a check for $89.62 for the months of Nov. 2021- Jan, 2022 thanks to 56 households who participated. Thank you!
October 25, 2021: We're excited and pleased to announce that thanks to a grant from the Samuel Higby and Margaret H. Camp Fund, Friends Of The Animals will be able to sponsor another PETS FOR VETERANS CAMPAIGN From Nov. 1st through Dec. 31st, at BOTH Cascades Humane Society AND the Jackson County Animal Shelter! Each shelter has been given equal funding to allow any qualified Jackson County Veteran (with proof and ID) to adopt one dog or up to two cats during this time frame with the adoption fee paid by "Friends"- while their funding lasts. For more information, please click on to the "Events" section above.
October, 2021: We recently received another quarterly check from Kroger and their Community Rewards Program for nonprofits in the amount of $107.64. Thank you to everyone who shopped at Kroger and listed Friends Of The Animals For The Jackson Area, Inc. as their preferred nonprofit to receive a donation from Kroger when they shopped. If you are not already participating in this program and would like to.... please see more information highlighted in one of the paragraphs below. Thank you! Also a big thank you to those of you who have donated money to Friends through "Frontstream" and/or "Network For Good". We also have the option of donating directly on our website if you click on to a "Donate" button at the top or bottom of many of the pages. All monies donated directly help animals in the Jackson County area. Our board is strictly volunteer so the animals are the only ones to benefit. :)
JULY 7, 2021: Now that businesses are starting to open back up and we're getting more used to the "new normal," our wish is that eventually we will get this pandemic behind us and we can all relax a bit more. Our hope is to have a fundraiser sometime later this year so that we can get back to raising more money to support our cause. We'd also like to thank each and every one who has donated money to our nonprofit recently as you have helped us to continue with our important mission to help animals in the Jackson Community. In addition to your much appreciated, individual donations, Kroger's Community Rewards Program has been wonderful for us as each quarter we receive a check from them based on purchases of our supporters in their store. In May we received a check for $117.93 thanks to 50+ households that had signed us up as their charity of choice. We also recently received a check in the amount of $17.24 from the Amazon Smile Foundation which was also appreciated. (Please see notes in the paragraph below on how to join these programs at no cost to you.) And last but certainly not least, we'd like to thank The Samuel Higby Camp Foundation for their generous grant of $5,000 that we were able to gift to The Forgotten Felines Program at Cascades Humane Society. (For more information please go to the "Our Donations" section.) Thank you all for being part of our team!
FEBRUARY 14, 2021: While we're still experiencing occasional difficulties getting into our website to put in updates, thank you for continuing to check in on us to read about our non profit organization. It's certainly been a difficult year for everyone as the world deals with the horrible virus but we are grateful that so many people care about homeless animals and that donations to nonprofits such as ours and adoptions at local shelters are still being made. We'd like to thank everyone who has donated to "Friends" through distribution centers such as "Frontstream" and "Network for Good." While your names remain anonymous to us by these companies, we have received donations made by you, from them, and we greatly appreciate your contributions. We'd also like to thank those of you that participate through the smile.amazon.com foundation as well the Kroger Community Rewards program. (www.krogercommunityrewards.com with our number TY239.) We just received notice of a check coming from Kroger for the period of Nov. 1 - Jan 31 in the amount of $126.40. Thank you to the 55 households who shopped at Kroger this past quarter. We promise to spend all of these donations wisely and to continue to help the needy animals in the Jackson area.
With the extremely cold temperatures, it is harder on outdoor animals such as horses. Equestria Horse Rescue and Sanctuary has been doing a wonderful job year-round to care for their rescues. All of their horses receive TLC but a couple have recently had medical issues that needed to be tended to. Veterinarian bills had piled up so Friends stepped in to take care of these bills for the horse rescue. Please go to our donations page to read more about it.
Thank you for checking out our website and for caring about needy animals. Stay warm and stay safe and hopefully with the vaccinations now being available, we can expect that 2021 will be a much better year for all.
DECEMBER 12, 2020: SEASON'S GREETINGS EVERYONE! THANK YOU FOR VISITING OUR WEBSITE AND FOR CARING ABOUT ANIMALS WHO MAY NEED US. PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO CHECK OUT THE "OUR DONATIONS" SECTION AS SEVERAL NEW DONATIONS FROM NOVEMBER HAVE FINALLY BEEN ADDED.
NOW IS THE TIME WHEN MANY OF YOU ARE BUYING GIFTS THROUGH AMAZON FOR CHRISTMAS AND WE HOPE YOU REMEMBER US AND DESIGNATE FRIENDS AS THE CHARITY YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT THROUGH THE AMAZON SMILE FOUNDATION. (INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND BELOW HOW TO SIGN UP.) WE JUST RECEIVED A CHECK FROM THEM FOR $19.39 FOR A PERCENTAGE OF PURCHASES BY SUPPORTERS OF FRIENDS FROM JULY 1 - SEPT. 30TH. THANK YOU!
WE'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK KROGER FOR THEIR COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM......
53 HOUSEHOLDS PARTICIPATED AND SUPPORTED FRIENDS FROM AUG. 1 - OCT. 31ST AND WE RECENTLY RECEIVED A CHECK FROM KROGER FOR $128.92. THANKS TO ALL!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM US TO YOU AND PLEASE STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY!
OCTOBER 22, 2020: Apologies to those of you who have been loyal to our website and haven't seen any updates for a while. As the administrator of this website, I've been having difficulty getting in to add information. Today was a good day as I got in!
Our board would like to thank everyone who has been kind enough to shop at Kroger and designate Friends Of The Animals as the charity of their choice as we recently received another check from their Community Rewards Program (www.krogercommunityrewards.com with our ID number of TY239). During the last two quarters, we received a total of $251.40 from Kroger which we will of course use wisely to help needy animals in our community. We'd also like to extend a thank you to the Amazon Smile Foundation (smile.amazon.com) for their donations during the last two quarters totaling $36.43. Every penny helps us to help the animals and we appreciate all who have signed up to participate in these free programs.
We also want to take a moment to wish all of you well and that perhaps we will see an end to Covid-19 in the foreseeable future. Until then, please stay safe and don't forget that animals need your love and attention as well.
OCTOBER 22, 2020: Photos of the outdoor flight cage, for the rehabilitation of injured birds has now been added to our "PHOTOS" section. Friends Of The Animals donated $10,746.00 to make sure this sturdy structure could be built to keep the birds safe as they recovered from their injuries or health issues at Country Garden Veterinary Clinic. To read more about it, please go to the "Our Donations" section on this website where it is listed under our donation on January 10, 2020.
MARCH 14, 2020: OUR BOWLING EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. Due to the Coronavirus, we needed to follow the guidelines set out by our Governor that cancels any gathering or sporting event that has over 250 people in a confined area. Our bowling event usually attracts over 300 bowlers so we knew the right thing to do was to cancel as the health and well-being of our volunteers, JAX-60 staff and our guests was paramount. Any paid lane sponsorships, door prizes, donations and/or money from ticket sales will be returned with our apologies for having to cancel and includes our gratitude for the support. Thank you everyone for your interest in our annual fundraising event.
MARCH 3, 2020: Tickets are now available for our annual "Moonlight Scotch Doubles" bowling event to be held on Saturday, April 18th at JAX-60 lanes. (Previously Airport Lanes.) We're also looking for volunteers, lane sponsors and/or door prizes so if you would like to help with that, we'd gladly hear from you. (All donations made to this event are tax deductible due to our non profit status.) For tickets or any other information about our event, please call Nancy at (517)782-0613. We hope to see you on April 18th! (More information on the event can also be found in our "Events" section by clicking the tab above.) Click on the Moonlight Scotch Doubles button for the event flyer.
MARCH 6, 2020: Thank you to Kroger and everyone who supports our organization by listing us as their charity of choice, and shopping at their favorite Kroger. We now have 55 households supporting us and we recently received a new quarterly check which was in the amount of $125.48. Thank you for shopping at Kroger and supporting our cause to help needy animals in the Jackson area! If you shop at Kroger and haven't signed up already, please go to www.krogercommunityrewards.com and list Friends Of The Animals For The Jackson Area as your charity of choice. Our special rewards number with the Kroger Community Rewards is TY239. Thank you!
FEBRUARY 2, 2020: Our annual bowl for the animals event will be held on Saturday, April 18th. Tickets should be available towards the end of this month. If you would like more information on our event, please look under our "Events" section or call Nancy at (517)782-0613. We hope you will join us for our fun event this Spring.
JANUARY 16, 2020: Updates to our DONATIONS AND EVENTS PAGES have recently been added. Please take a moment or two to check them out.
NOVEMBER 29, 2019: Correction- The Jackson County Animal Shelter did not end up using our donation listed below for "ThanksFurgiving," and will be using it instead in the near future when they have their next Bissell donation event. We will be partnering with them and adding to Bissell's sponsor fee on 14 of their animals looking for a home.
Please remember to visit either of our local shelters if/when you are thinking about adding another pet to your family. There are plenty of wonderful animals just waiting for you to discover them.
THERE'S STILL TIME FOR ANY JACKSON VETERAN WHO WOULD LIKE TO ADOPT A PET AT CASCADES HUMANE SOCIETY, TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR PETS FOR VETERANS PROGRAM. PLEASE STOP IN AT CHS ON OR BEFORE NOV. 30TH AND WE WILL PAY YOUR ADOPTION FEE FOR ONE DOG OR UP TO TWO CATS. THANK YOU TO OUR LOCAL HEROES WHO SERVED OUR COUNTRY.
NOVEMBER 22, 2019: Starting tomorrow, through Wed., November 27th, Friends will be participating in a ThanksFurgiving promotion at the Jackson County Animal Shelter. We are sponsoring up to a dozen cats by donating $30 each for their adoption fee for anyone who would like to add a new, furry one to their family. If you or anyone you know would like to adopt a cat from the shelter, please stop in and take advantage of our offer. While you are there, be sure to check out the "Cat Habitat" addition that Friends Of The Animals designed and paid for. It is a state-of-the-art living facility for cats at JCAS. There may also be some dogs being sponsored during this time frame as well so be sure to ask if that is available if you are looking for a special canine. Happy Thanksgiving!
NOVEMBER 22, 2019: We just added a photo (in our photo section) of the two horses that Friends sponsored for rescue, on their way to their new home at Equestria Horse Rescue and Sanctuary earlier this year. The photo is a little dark but you might get a glimpse of them as they peek out of their windows in the horse trailer. They were named "Moon" and "Shadow" once they made it to their new home, based on the color of their coats and manes. Friends also donated extra money to Equestria for their medical care. (See the "our donations" section.)
NOVEMBER 22, 2019: Friends would like to thank Kroger for their quarterly check of over $100 that was recently sent to us from their Community Rewards Program. To date we have 58 households supporting the program for Friends.(For new participants, our exclusive number when registering at their website www.krogercommunityrewards.com is TY239.) We appreciate the assistance of everyone who participates in this wonderful program for our nonprofit. If you shop at Kroger and would like to sign up, it costs nothing for you to do so and and Kroger will send us a donation based on a percentage of your purchases. More information on this program can be found below in the Aug., 2019 notice. We also have a similar program offered through the Amazon Smile Foundation at smile.amazon.com if you shop online with Amazon and would like to participate. Again, there is no extra cost for you and it helps us to help the animals. Thank you!
NOVEMBER 1-30, 2019: Thanks to a generous grant from The Samuel Higby & Margaret H. Camp Fund, "Friends" will be sponsoring another PETS FOR VETERANS CAMPAIGN during the entire month of November, at the Cascades Humane Society in Jackson. From Nov. 1 - 30th we will pay the adoption fee for one dog or up to two cats for any qualified Jackson County veteran, while funding lasts. For more information and details on our program, please click onto the "Events" tab above where it will take you to our event section.
NOVEMBER, 2019: In August "Friends" helped to sponsor the rescue of two horses who thankfully now reside at Equestria Horse Rescue and Sanctuary in Jackson County. We also gave additional money to their non-profit rescue group to assist in medical care as one of the horses desperately needed attention. We're pleased to announce that "Moon" is doing much better now and she and her companion "Shadow" will spend the rest of their retirement years in the safe haven provided by the non-profit Equestria. We'd like to thank Nic and Darrell for their love and compassion for all of their rescued animals.
NOVEMBER, 2019: Try as we might, we have not been able to download our 2019 bowling event photos. For some reason our computers won't play nice with each other. Sorry for any inconvenience for those who may have been periodically checking for them. Hopefully we'll be able to figure something out for photos for our yearly bowling event in April, 2020!
AUGUST 14, 2019: New items have been added to "our donations page "if you would like to read about them.
We also received an advance notice from the Kroger Community Rewards Program that another quarterly check is on it's way. We have 61 households participating in this program to date and we thank each and every one of you for registering to support us. If you shop at Kroger and would like to support Friends Of The Animals For The Jackson Area, Inc. it is easy and will cost you nothing additional. If you register, Kroger will donate a portion of your purchase price to us, every time you shop. (Also, please show your Kroger card when you pay for your groceries). Our exclusive number for the program is TY239 and you can quickly and easily register at www.krogercommunityrewards.com. THANK YOU!!!
JULY 3, 2019: The totals are now in from our most recent Pets For Veterans campaign and 15 animals from the Jackson County Animal Shelter are now happily residing in their new homes. Thank you to all of the Jackson County veterans who visited the shelter and adopted a new furry best friend. We'd also like to thank the Samuel Higby & Margaret H. Camp Fund for their grant to help us continue on with our Pets For Veterans program.
JUNE 15, 2019: Our most recent Pets For Veterans program is officially over and we're happy to report that many of Jackson's veterans took advantage of our offer and adopted new best friends. We'll keep you updated on our totals once we get the final information from the shelter.
JUNE 15, 2019: We've been having problems getting the photos from the bowling event downloaded onto our website as they were sent in a different format. We'll keep trying and we appreciate your patience.
JUNE 5, 2019: Photos have now been added of some of the Jackson County Veterans and their new pets, thanks to our Pets For Veterans Campaign and the generous grant from the Samuel Higby & Margaret H. Camp Fund. Click on to our "Photos" tab above. The slide show of a variety of photos runs continuously so it may start at a different place each time you go to our site. The photos from this most recent campaign appear just after the photo of our advertising poster with the soldier petting his dog on a roadside path. NOTE: The photos are a bit dark, therefore details don't show up as much as we'd like, but we did want to share them with you anyway.
MAY 20, 2019:
ANNOUNCING OUR "PETS FOR VETERANS" CAMPAIGN THAT IS RUNNING FROM
MAY 20- JUNE 15, 2019! Thanks to a generous grant from the Samuel Higby & Margaret H. Camp Fund, Friends Of The Animals will pay the adoption fee for one dog or up to two cats at the Jackson County Animal Shelter during this four-week period for any *qualified veteran. The shelter is located at 3370 Spring Arbor Rd. in Jackson and their regular business hours are M-F 10 am- 4:30 pm and Sat. 10 am- 4:00 pm. All animals will be spayed or neutered and current on necessary shots and/or vaccinations, and are ready and waiting to meet just the right veteran who wants to give them a permanent, loving home. This will be our 8th Pets For Veterans campaign and the adoptions of 57 dogs and 31 cats have already taken place during the previous campaigns! Due to it's popularity, we have extended our offer to a four-week period this time instead of the usual two, to give more veterans a chance to find a new best friend!
* To qualify, a veteran needs to bring in a copy of their DD214 Discharge papers or Jackson County Veteran's ID card, and show a valid photo ID. Due to the requirements of our grant, veterans MUST be current residents of Jackson, County. A valid drivers license or Jackson County Veterans ID card will be required for proof of residency. Friends Of The Animals would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the veterans for their service to our country.
MAY, 2019: A big thank you goes out to Kroger and all of our supporters who have signed up for the Kroger Community Rewards program and shopped From Feb - April, 2019. We just received our quarterly check from the program and 54 families had participated this quarter and we received a check for $122.46, based on a percentage of their purchases. We thank Kroger for this program that supports our nonprofit at no extra cost to their shoppers and many needy animals will benefit from this donation.
MAY, 2019: Nearly 300 bowlers participated in our annual bowling event on April 27th. A good time was had by all and we would like to thank our sponsors, raffle prize and door prize contributors, bowlers, and loyal volunteers for helping us to make this another successful event.
FEBRUARY 19, 2019: Tickets are now available for our April 27th bowling event. They are still only $18 for two people to bowl together. Anyone 16 years and older, regardless of bowling ability, is welcome and our event is a lot of fun with great door prizes, raffles and 50/50 drawings. If you want a ticket or if you want to get a group of friends together to bowl with you, let us know. If you sell 11 tickets, we will give you ticket #12 for FREE! Also, we now have some cute, letter-sized flyers that can be posted to advertise our event. It features a team of bowlers in vintage clothing, but they have dog heads! Pretty funny. If you would like to help us post flyers or if you would like tickets, or any other information, please call Nancy at (517)782-0613.
FEBRUARY 4, 2019: Happy New Year everyone! Spring is just around the corner and plans are in motion for the 29th annual Bowl For The Animals, Moonlight Scotch Doubles on Saturday, April 27th. Airport Lanes has been purchased by a new owners and they are looking forward to providing a great venue for us to hold our fundraiser this year. The new name is JAX 60 to fit the location and the fact that they offer 60 lanes for bowling. If you would like to bowl, purchase a $100 lane sponsorship, donate a raffle or door prize, volunteer or just like more information on our event, please contact Nancy at (517)782-0613. More details on our annual fundraiser can also be found in our "Events" section of this website.
NOVEMBER 3, 2018: We would like to thank the Samuel Higby & Margaret H. Camp Fund and Jackson Community Foundation for their invitation to Friends to submit an application for a grant for up to $7,500. We submitted our request and proposal and we recently received notice that we were awarded the full amount by the Fund. We are very grateful to be able to use this gift of money to continue on with one of our programs that supports the Jackson Community and homeless animals that need our help. More information will follow in the spring.
AUGUST 20, 2018: We have a new number for our Kroger Community Rewards Program which is TY239. If you are already registered with our previous number, all should be fine but Kroger asked us to tell you there is a new number and to update our files for new people interested in participating in their program for us. If you shop at Kroger, and you would like to sign up for their rewards program, it is very easy and comes at no cost to you. Please register at www.krogercommunityrewards.com and sign up to support us with our exclusive number: TY239 or under the name Friends Of The Animals For The Jackson Area Inc. With every purchase you make at Kroger, our nonprofit will receive a donation from Kroger's wonderful Community Rewards Program. Easy as that! Thank you.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION TO FRIENDS OF THE ANIMALS FOR THE JACKSON AREA WE WOULD BE MOST GRATEFUL. BY CLICKING ONTO THE BUTTON ABOVE, AND ENTERING A DOLLAR AMOUNT, YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFT WILL GO DIRECTLY INTO OUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT. WE WILL RECEIVE A NOTICE OF YOUR DONATION VIA THE E-MAIL ADDRESS POSTED ON THAT PAGE. (IF YOU WOULD KINDLY CHECK THE BOX FOR CONTACT INFORMATION, WE CAN SEND YOU A PROPER THANK YOU LETTER FOR YOUR GIFT.) THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING US TO HELP NEEDY AND HOMELESS ANIMALS IN THE JACKSON AREA!
THANK YOU TO KROGER AND THEIR COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM FOR ANOTHER QUARTERLY CHECK FOR FRIENDS. WITH THE SUPPORT OF KROGER SHOPPERS WHO HAVE REGISTERED WITH KROGER, WE RECEIVE THESE WONDERFUL DONATIONS FROM THEIR CHARITABLE PROGRAM. IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY A REGISTERED MEMBER, PLEASE GO TO: www.krogercommunityrewards.com AND ENTER OUR EXCLUSIVE ORGANIZATION NUMBER: TY239 or type in our name Friends Of The Animals For The Jackson Area Inc. IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE PROGRAM AND WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO REGISTER, MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND BELOW OR IN THE "OUR PROGRAMS" SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE. THANK YOU SO MUCH
FRIENDS OF THE ANIMALS FOR THE JACKSON AREA IS NOW ON FACEBOOK. PLEASE CHECK US OUT!
DO YOU SHOP ON AMAZON.COM? If you shop on Amazon.com you could help Friends Of The Animals in an easy way that would cost you nothing and take very little time! We are signed up as a non-profit that is eligible for their AmazonSmile Foundation program. Please go to smile.amazon.com and register your name with our organization as the non profit group you have selected to receive donations and with any purchase you make on their website, the foundation will send Friends a portion of your purchase price...at no cost to you! You place your orders EXACTLY as you would with Amazon.com but instead, be sure to go to the smile.amazon.com site instead. You only need to register once and then all purchases you make from that site will have a small credit go to us. Please help us to help the animals! Thank you.
SIGNING UP ON THE AMAZON DONATION SITE JUST GOT A LOT EASIER! CLICK ON OUR DIRECT LINK TO SIGN UP: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/90-0616998
Please go to our events section for more information on our upcoming fundraisers.
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Photos from "Pets For Veterans."
