BARK IN THE PARK: A day set aside for doggie competition and info tables, sponsored by the Bristol, Virginia Parks & Recreation Dept., along with other area businesses. Holly Help turned out with our fabulous, super-size booth to educate the public on the rewards of spay and neuter … and … the consequences for not sterilizing your pet. It was a day of many free-bee's for the public and for their pets. Photos portraits for dogs who showed up and a chance to win a free surgery from Holly Help were both offered. Awards were given out for everything from 'Most Unusual Name' to 'The Smallest & Largest Dogs'. Thanks to all of the Holly Helpers who showed up to help man the tables. See you next year !
HOLIDAY PET- TACULAR ! A cold-weathered adopt-a-thon hosted by Siberian Husky Assist Rescue Group, took place at the Sullivan County Animal Shelter. Holly Help was present with an info table and camera in hand. Many interesting photos were added to the Holly Help scrapbook from this event including sled dog training and racing, along with agility course expos. Several shelter animals found a new home due to this event and their lovely little faces were also added to the scrapbook. Thanks to Friends Of Shelters, Holly Helpers, Sullivan County Animal Shelter, Glenda Kyte & Her Photo Crew, and Bob and Marcia Horne with Husky Assist. Much thanks to the public for their participation and adoptions.
IT'S FOR PUPPY LOVE: A sweetheart event traditionally reserved for Valentine's Day in February. This event, hosted by Marcia Horne, promotes adoptions from the shelter. Humane organizations either assist with adoptions and shelter duties or staff their own info-tables. Sled dogs continue to demonstrate their ever-awesome abilities along with Holly Help Representatives equipped with their very own info-table and a Kodak. There is always something for everyone !
RHYTHM & ROOTS REUNION: A jam-packed day of fun on the main street that divides two states. Holly Help info-booth, stuffed full of goodies and info for everyone. Live music can be found playing on every corner. Lots and lots of attractions for the kids and wall-to-wall vendors for the adult kids. Besides educating the public, bunches of aluminum cans lay waiting to be plucked.
Between the music, the kettle korn, crafts and chili contests, this event proves to be an outstanding filler for one person's weekend. Thanks to the many, many Holly Helpers that took turns at the booth for these three days.
SPAY DAY USA: This annual campaign is sponsored by the Doris Day Animal Foundation. Set aside traditionally for the month of February each year and drifting well into March, Spay Day USA is commemorated nationally by many local humane societies across the US. Holly Help indulged in the 2003 campaign with an area-wide event entitled "Stop In The Name Of Love - Spay & Neuter". Our event for 2004 will remain commensurate with The Doris Day Campaign titled, "Be Pet-riotic, Neuter or Spay". As with our first year's campaign, Holly Help ?Director will again be canvassing the area with camera in hand, educating and photographing all who come in contact with our Pet-riotic Flag. The flag will bear the red-white-blue names and faces of the nearly l000 pets who have been sterilized as a result of Holly Help assistance. Also similar to last year, Holly Help will be giving away free spay or neuter surgeries at the Sullivan County Animal Shelter where the Pet-riotic flag will find its final resting place after having been on its tour of our area.
HARVEST HOUNDS & CALICO CATS: Although Holly Help has hosted a variety of mini-events in the past, our now famous Harvest Hounds and Calico Cats was by and far, the largest event to have ever been put on by our volunteers. Holly Help devoted a tremendous amount of work into making sure that the event proceeded as planned, from beginning to end. Starting with choosing the appropriate name for the fall extravaganza, designing the public flyers to be distributed, planning and coordinating, setting up tents, chairs and a myriad of other heavy items and finishing up with tearing everything down and transporting both Holly Help and other organization's leftovers away once the event had ended. It was, to say the least, a very long and tiring weekend… but worth every minute. A huge thank you to all of the many people involved in making the fall festival for pets, such a whopping success (which catered to well over 600 folks and their pets on that Saturday). An event of this magnitude could only be undertaken through the hard work of many individuals beginning with the extra mile of hospitality shown by Sgt. Goode and his troops at the Tennessee National Guard Armory, along with Deacon Hall from St. Anne's Church and his blessing of countless animals with holy water. Much appreciation to the 35 donors who made possible the terrific auction and door prizes and to all who donated their rummage sale items. Thanks to all of the vendors and humane organizations who harmoniously worked together to make for a most interesting and appealing arrangement of entertainment, along with all of the spooky costumes that lent themselves to a festive atmosphere. Thanks to the public for their show of interest and for bringing their pets in from home to meet us and to those people who opened their hearts and their houses by adopting so many of the available homeless animals that were up for adoption. A very special thank you to each of the folks who unselfishly gave of their time to help with the gigantic task of setting up and the clean-up efforts afterwards. Harvest Hounds & Calico Cats was a shining example of a community working together to help our furry, four-legged friends and for which a note of gratitude is extended to The Bristol Herald Courier for their superb coverage of our event.
NASCAR RACES AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY: Holly Help is in negotiations with race track officials on determining better ways to retrieve more aluminum cans as a product of the race and its fans. Our method of operating at the speedway changes from year to year, sometimes hand-picking cans from the empty bleachers or sometimes manning booths. Race week 2003 was the record breaker for aluminum cans, bringing in just a little shy of one ton of cans. This figure included the routine supply of cans from the very generous Bristol public, the cans collected by volunteers from Food City Family Race Night, along with campground race fan cans and those cans which were collected from the speedway bleachers. Thanks to the hard work of everyone who made this possible in every way, both small and large. Together, we did recycle lives ! Anyone interested in becoming a part of our largest can collecting effort during the year, please call Sue at (276) 466-5375. Gloves and bags will be provided.
FOOD CITY FAMILY RACE NIGHT: In our never-ending quest for cans, Holly Help makes its presence available on State Street in downtown Bristol during the Food City Family Race Night Event. Can collection receptacles are set in place early in the day and are accompanied by Holly Help signs. Holly Help representatives are present for the entire event, taking shifts at working the streets. Our gratitude goes out to several businesses on State Street for reserving the space for Holly Help to place our signs and barrels. Additional thanks to Chris Henry for stenciling our last minute signs, Katie Gemm and Sue Williams for working the event and of course, to Food City and all of the vendors for making the entire event possible. 108 pounds of aluminum cans were collected at the last event which were immediately recycled and the money used to spay an additional area animal. Any one interested in helping to collect cans at the next Family Race Night is welcome to call and coordinate with Sue. Bags and gloves will be provided. All you need to bring is your warm body.
RACING CAMPGROUND CANS: Where there are people, there is thirst. Where there is thirst, there are cans ! Twice yearly, Holly Help is invited back to several campgrounds which are in close proximity to the Bristol Motor Speedway. By invitation only, we are permitted to retrieve the aluminum cans which have been left behind by race fans. We are literally able to reap a ton of cans from this journey, but, unfortunately because of a lack of volunteers versus an over abundance of campgrounds, we are unable to get around to all of the cans that are available for us to gather. Keeping in mind that more cans mean more surgeries, we ask everyone to consider joining us in our hunt for cans at campgrounds during race times. Bags, gloves and transportation (if needed) will be provided. Much thanks to all those Holly Helpers who faithfully show up for this event each year. Chris Henry, Katie Gemm, Charlie Fleenor and members of the Volunteer Baptist Church, the Poore families, and Sue Williams. Anyone interested in joining our efforts at the campgrounds during the next race is encouraged to call Sue at (276) 466-5375 to coordinate. It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it !
SOUTH HOLSTON LAKE CLEAN-UP: We're sorry we missed you at the last South Holston Lake Clean Up. At the invitation of the Bristol Chamber Of Commerce, Division of Keep Bristol Beautiful, Holly Help travels to Observation Knob to participate and retrieve the opportunity to cash in on the aluminum cans which are generated by the clean up effort. Past years have realized 57 tons of trash being collected by community volunteers. Holly Help drove away with over l00 pounds of aluminum (enough to pay for the sterilization surgery for one dog or cat). Although each spay is of vital importance, it is regrettable that l0 times the amount of cans collected that day had to be forfeited and disposed of due to a lack of Holly Help Team Members being present at this event. Additionally, it is seldom that this amount of aluminum cans are able to be collected at once, in such a short amount of time, with such little effort and at no expense. We hope that we can see more volunteers working on the Holly Help Team next year to make an even bigger difference in the lives of dogs and cats in our community and on behalf of our planet. Gloves and bags are all provided. Much thanks so out to all of the event sponsors, TVA, the live music providing for a great day of like-minded community volunteers who all worked so diligently for such a great cause. If you're interested in spending this one day of the year engaged in a very productive community oriented cause, followed by FREE food, drink, entertainment and great door prizes, call Sue Williams (276) 466-5375 and have your name added to the South Holston Lake Clean Up List as a Holly Help Team Member. You can stay all day or simply choose the hours that would be best for you.
GREAT AMERICAN CLEAN UP: Help us pick up litter - to prevent a litter ! The Holly Help Spay Fund cordially invites everyone who cares about our planet and all that live on it, to The Great American Clean Up, annually sponsored by the Bristol Chamber Of Commerce. Picking up litter once a year builds character, instills a sense of community pride and generates a lot of aluminum cans for Holly Help to use on our mission of spay and neuter of area pets. The last clean up effort netted Holly Help a First Place Award from the Chamber Of Commerce for collecting ll3 bags of trash. This award also came complete with a monetary prize which was spent immediately on sterilizing more animals. We need you to help duplicate this scenario again this year. To sign up on the Holly Help Team, please call Sue. Bags and gloves are both provided. Please remember, "Aluminum cans are our specialty but… Volunteers are our necessity.! " Hope to See you there.
CHRISTMAS PARADE: Holly Help anticipates having a float built and entered into the downtown Bristol Christmas Parade. Unfortunately, in years past, animals have been banned from participating in the parade, but… we still encourage you to bring a friend along for a walk down the middle of State Street to proudly accompany the Holly Help float. Dates, times, details will be made available at a later date. The more the merrier !
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