Happy New Year!
Its only the 8th of January and already its been a busy year! We have been busy with adoptions and working to keep the animals warm in the freezing cold blast this last two weeks or so.
Since we still haven't been able to replace the horse shelter that was destroyed in Hurricane Irma (along with a couple other small storage buildings), we took a small portion of the donations that were made toward its rebuild to put up a temporary shelter. It was far too cold for them to be out in the teens and twenties temps (let alone the chance for snow!) so we put together a make shift temporary shelter for them to get out of the cold. They have definitely been using it on the cold nights. Thank you so much to Justin, Suzanne, Jamie, Shauna (At Modern Woodmen) and Sherry for your donations last year and enabling us to provide them with shelter. Our hope is that we can raise the remaining funds this year before storm season hits, so we can purchase the container (read more here).
We have also added AmazonSmile to our front page, please remember to shop for Lemondrop when you do your online purchases on Amazon!
In the last few days of December we finally achieved Platinum Badge status with GuideStarUSA!
This means that we are at the highest level of transparency with our nonprofit, as rated by GuideStar, a third party nonprofit who rates all 501c3 charitable organization. Be sure to check out the page here. ALL donations made to Lemondrop go directly toward the care of the animals and our operating expenses. We have two full time volunteers and several as-needed volunteers, none receive any sort of paycheck. Our heart is all about the animals and caring for them in the best way possible (and for people in need through our Community Outreach program).
Our volunteers are the real treasures at Lemondrop. There isn't a single one more dedicated than Justin Hsu. He first became involved with Lemondrop at its inception in 2011 as a student at our performing arts branch in California. It was quickly clear that he was exceptional and dedicated in so many ways, he began to work as an assistant director and stage manager with our instructors. In 2014 he was asked to join the Board of Directors at Lemondrop. We were so honored to have him join our team!
Since those early days, Justin has risen to dazzling heights. He is now an actor in New York City and has been seen on both live stage work as well as Saturday Night Live! Yet despite all his success, Justin has remained a constant friend and companion in the fight against animal cruelty. Whenever he has spare time he comes and helps at the Sanctuary, spends time with the animals and supports us in so many wonderful ways.
Thank you Justin. You're the lifeblood of what we do at Lemondrop. You have made such a difference in the lives of so many animals.
