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Volunteers are an indispensable asset to the SPCA. We would not be able to accomplish all we do on campus or in the community without these dedicated individuals. As such, we are improving our volunteer program to focus more on training, especially in the areas of proper animal handling, customer service, SPCA program knowledge and offsite merchandise sales, a key revenue source for the SPCA’s many outreach programs. Investing in volunteer training ensures the delivery of consistent messaging and high levels of customer service, as well as providing volunteers with essential skills transferable to jobs and other leadership positions.
As a result of the collaborative effort of Volunteer Manager Randa Richter and Advisory Board Member Brenda Joyce-Shrom, the SPCA’s improved volunteer plan is more structured with achievement levels and added responsibility based on performance, skills gained and overall SPCA knowledge. Depending on the volunteer’s desire, he or she can meet the levels of Animal Care Assistant I and II, Animal Ambassador I – Adoption Center, Community Outreach Animal Ambassador I and II, and Volunteer Adoption Counselor. The mandatory training sessions and levels make sure all volunteers representing the SPCA are confident, skilled at handling animals, and well versed in our mission and programs.
Another major component of this revision is our junior volunteer program, offering training and service opportunities for young people ages 12 to 15.
The program is under development and expected to launch in the summer of 2012. While these junior volunteer opportunities are not currently available, applications to the program are being accepted.
The SPCA is excited to offer these training opportunities to our prized volunteers who unselfishly donate so much of their time, talent and resources to further our mission and improve the lives of the pets and people in our community. For more information on the volunteer program improvements or opportunities, contact Randa Richter at rrichter@lovemyspca.com or 863/646-7722 ext. 112.
Fetch your sneakers and your furry friend and join us for the 20th anniversary Walk for the Animals on Saturday, April 21 at Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland.
This dog-friendly event is tons of fun for the whole family! Activities include a 5K Run at 8:00 a.m., the Walkathon at 9:00 a.m., a hot dog eating contest, canine costume contest, kid-friendly activities, demonstrations, exhibits, a flea-free market, a bow wow buffet of great food and fantastic prizes.
By collecting donations from friends and family to sponsor your walk around the lake, you can help meet this year’s goal of $100,000 to help 6,000 homeless animals. Walk individually or with your dog. Invite a friend or form a team to make an even bigger impact. The more money you raise, the more animals we can help. If you cannot walk, please make a donation to help at least one. Register or donate today – the animals are counting on YOU!
For more information about participating as a walker, runner, donor, sponsor, or vendor, contact Walk for the Animals Chairman Mary Stephens at (863) 646-6403 or maryspca@tampabay.rr.com
Thanks to our dedicated staff and volunteers, as well as our generous donors and business partners, the SPCA is able to positively impact thousands of animals and people in our community. We are very proud of everyone’s hard work and would like to share just a few of the many accomplishments in 2011:
- Surrenders have declined from a high of 10,824 in 2006 to 6,279 pets in 2011, which we attribute, in part, to the success of the SPCA spay/neuter initiatives.
Thanks to generous donors Daisy and lots of other deserving pets are able to live happy, healthy lives.
- Guardian Angel Fund donations made life-saving treatments possible for 231 surrendered pets. Close to $45,000 was spent treating diseases and injuries, making these pets healthy and adoptable.
- The SPCA McClurg Animal Medical Center provided 16,684 animals with affordable, skilled veterinary care and 6,050 owned animals were spayed or neutered, helping to control pet overpopulation. Overall, our talented medical staff helped over 10,500 pet owners throughout the year.
- The SPCA’s Wellness Wagon provided vaccinations, heartworm testing, and preventive products to 1,916 pets belonging to 1,701 human clients.
- Over 30 animals received treatments funded though the Mend-a-Friend Fund, which enables Medical Center clients who demonstrate a history of providing for their pet and who otherwise, would not be able to afford a major medical expense to receive financial aid.
Deserving pets like Gilligan received necessary medical treatment through our Mend-a-Friend Fund.
- A $36,000 grant from PetSmart Charities enabled the SPCA to control PolkCounty’s feral cat population by sterilizing 740 cats in the Kathleen area.
- 700 active volunteers donated over 31,000 hours by lending a paw on our Campus of Kindness or at our various offsite outreach programs and events.
- One hundred senior pet owners on limited incomes receive bi-monthly donations of pet food and supplies. The items are collected from 25 SPCA donation boxes at local businesses and are bagged by SPCA volunteers for distribution by Elder Point Ministries, Polk County Elderly Services and Meals on Wheels.
- Through Paws to Read 255 children gained confidence and improved their reading abilities while enriching the lives of our homeless pets.
Critter Campers got hands-on experience grooming animals at our Adoption Center during their week-long summer camp.
- Critter Camp offered 60 youth in grades three through eight hands-on experience with its week-long immersion in kindness and compassion, responsible pet ownership, pet safety and SPCA behind the scenes operations. Critter Campers also enjoyed humane education guest speakers from Natural Encounters and Feral Fanciers.
On behalf of all the animals and people you helped us serve last year, and all the ones you will help us care for this year, thank you!
Cannon Subaru Owner Danny Cannon Filming Local TV Ad for Share the Love Event
As part of its Share the Love event, Cannon Subaru is donating $25 to the SPCA for each test drive during the month of December. Our goal is 100 test drives (that’s $2,500 for the SPCA animals!). What an easy way to donate money to our four-legged friends! Cannon Subaru is located at 5210 S. Florida Avenue in Lakeland.
On December 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., SPCA will be at the dealership with Clicker Training demonstrations, adoptable animals and lots of great pet merchandise for your four-legged friends and the animal lovers in your life. That Saturday Cannon Subaru will offer pet pictures with Santa Paws as well as free BBQ and sodas. Help us make Share the Love a success for our homeless animals–test drive a Subaru today!
Step 1: Expanding the SPCA’s McClurg Animal Medical Center
What began in 2001 as a low-cost spay/neuter clinic grew into a full-service medical center in 2009 and now provides quality, affordable care to over 4,500 clients each month (nearly 200 per day). With its exponential growth, the SPCA’s McClurg Animal Medical Center is desperate for more room. The Medical Center enables us to treat animals with medical problems admitted to our Adoption Center as well as thousands of pets at affordable fees.
Dr. Kohn performs a patient exam.
To meet the increased demand and provide superior client care and customer service, the Medical Center will add 4,400 square feet. The new building will extend 50 feet north and 80 feet east with a relocated main entrance and an enlarged, paved parking area. It will include seven exam rooms with both corridor and administration entrances, separate reception and discharge areas, and a phone center to answer the 38,000 medical calls received monthly. Shifting the exam rooms and lobby to the new building will create areas in the existing building for treating heartworm dogs and feral cats as well as staff training on the newest and best treatment protocols. This expansion project will position the SPCA McClurg Animal Medical Center to meet the increasing need for quality, affordable veterinary care.
Step 2: Upgrading the Adoption Center
In 1991 the first visitors walked into our Adoption Center looking for their fur-ever friends. Over the past 20 years we have added tile and stainless steel, replaced cages with community cat and puppy habitats, and installed heat lamps and misters to make the animals more comfortable. It is time to take our improvements to the next level. To make our animals even more comfortable and attract more potential adopters, we are proposing to heat and air condition the kennels.
Additionally, the concrete dividers between each kennel will be replaced with tempered glass to provide an open, friendly atmosphere. Glass doors will replace kennel bars for increased visibility, interaction, and a more cheerful visiting experience. These upgrades will enhance the comfort of our four-legged guests as well as their daily caregivers and visitors.
Leave a Lasting Legacy, Donate to the Campus of Kindness Expansion
The SPCA’s Campus expansion and Adoption Center remodeling will require increased funding and support from individuals and businesses. To discuss sponsorship or naming opportunities call Executive Director Warren Cox today at (863) 646-7722.
The fenced small dog and puppy area Daniel built.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Troop Quartermaster Daniel Partlow, the SPCA small dogs and puppies now have an outdoor space to play in and visit with potential adoptive families. A former member of the St. Paul Lutheran School Builders Club, Daniel spent quite a few Fridays on the SPCA Campus of Kindness helping out with various SPCA tasks. When the time came for his Mulberry Boy Scout Troop project, he again turned his efforts to help our animals.
Director of Community Relations, Jessica Lawson visits with The Partlows (Rick, Daniel and Erin) as they show off their recent Campus service project.
Daniel and his father Rick Partlow, Mulberry’s Troop 445 Assistant Scout Master, began the project in early spring of this year. Since the SPCA already had fence donated by the county from one of its replacement projects in the Christina area, Daniel’s first step was to request fence material donations from local businesses. Williams Fence Company of Lakeland went above and beyond to help Daniel with his SPCA project. “Williams Fence Company gave us everything we needed. They donated over $500 worth of materials to us,” said Daniel.
When asked what the biggest obstacle of the project was, Daniel replied, “Concrete. When we were putting the poles in on the far right side there was a giant piece of concrete 17 inches down.” The diligent team spent over half an hour trying to break up the concrete with a wrecking bar. “Finally, we ended up just cutting the pole with a hack saw, W-D, and lots of elbow grease,” said Rick.
Another obstacle surfaced when the Partlows were installing the gates. “We stretched the fence out, and we were three inches short,” said Rick. Luckily Williams Fence Company was happy to help. Williams provided the Partlow duo with poles, straps, and latches, which enabled them to block the gap in the fence. The project finale last around four hours and included eight youth and four adults from Troop 445. The group tugged and pulled to stretch out the fencing material and installed all the poles and latches, providing the SPCA puppies with a fun and safe area to romp around and visit. The Partlows even went the extra mile, supplying each of the outdoor fenced play areas with hand-crafted wooden signs.
Daniel, now a freshman and swim team member at George Jenkins High School reflected back on the project, “It was hard because we had never worked with fence before. And it was around one hundred degrees outside, incredibly hot. If we had previous experience working with something like that we could have gotten it done a lot sooner, but we learned as we went.”
Did you know the SPCA Campus of Kindness is home to one of only five Florida-Friendly Demonstration Gardens in Polk County? What’s a Florida-Friendly Demonstration Garden? These are educational gardens open to the public and designed to feature Florida-Friendly plants and mulch, micro-irrigation, rain barrels as well as plant signage for easy identification.
Florida-Friendly plants such as Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris), Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata and Beach Sunflower (Helianthus debilis) add low maintenance color to the Demonstration Garden between the Medical Center and Adoption Center entrances.
The Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ (FFL) Program creates environmentally sound gardens that conserve and protect Florida’s waterways, soil, wildlife and energy while still achieving an aesthetically pleasing landscape. The FFL program is a joint venture of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (US/IFAS) Extension Service. Based on University of Florida research, nine interrelated principles are the cornerstone of the FFL program. These principles, which can be applied to both residential and commercial property, are demonstrated throughout the SPCA garden beds.
They include:
- Right Plant, Right Place
- Water Efficiently
- Fertilize Appropriately
- Mulch
- Attract Wildlife
- Manage Yard Pests Responsibly
- Recycle
- Manage Stormwater Runoff
- Protect the Waterfront
The first principle, Right Plant, Right Place is a critical one. The main idea when placing plants in your landscape is not to waste time, energy and money caring for a plant that is not adapted to the spot where it’s planted. Florida-Friendly plants, which include both native plants and adapted, non-native plants survive with little maintenance and thrive in the climate and soils of our Central Florida region. Regardless of the heat and climate we face, there are many plants that meet these criteria with no sacrifice to beauty in terms of color, texture and style. Locate a chosen plant in the areas of the landscape that best meet the plants’ requirements for growth—pretty logical, right?
Creating a Florida-Friendly landscape is not difficult and the gardens do not have to conform to any particular style. Florida-Friendly garden is a type of landscape adaptable to many styles and provides the benefit of working with the natural ecosystem rather than against it.
All the Demonstration Gardens in Polk County are maintained by volunteers and the gardens located on the SPCA campus are no exception. Along with help from various SPCA volunteers, the gardens on the campus have been planted and maintained by Brenda Joyce-Shrom, a Master Gardener for the Polk County Extension Service.
Master Gardener and SPCA Advisory Board Member Brenda Joyce-Shrom
Beyond her Master Gardener role, Brenda is a member of the SPCA’s Advisory Board, conducts the training courses for the Volunteer Adoption Counselor program and participates in many Community Outreach events. She and her husband, Dr. Stanley Shrom are long-time supporters of the SPCA and its mission to re-home the animals surrendered to the SPCA.
FFL principles recommend using mulch to protect against soil erosion, maintain soil moisture and inhibit weed growth. Brenda and a few of the SPCA volunteers, including Chris Hearon and Justin Golan put down more than 85 bags of Melaleuca mulch in the early summer. This Florida-Friendly mulch was donated by the Polk County Master Gardeners. The result of a “design” competition with SPCA volunteers, decorated rain barrels were installed on the property several years ago and feed the micro-irrigation system that provides efficient watering, which is the second principle.
“Working on the SPCA Demo Garden gives me the chance to do two of things that I love; gardening and supporting the SPCA” Brenda says. She went on to say “We get hundreds of visitors to the campus on a daily basis and it’s important that the campus projects a positive first impression. Many people have a negative image of what a ‘shelter’ looks like, but this is the Campus of Kindness! Our outward appearance should reflect the care and professionalism that a customer will experience once they enter our buildings. Besides, the employees who work here and the animals who stay with us deserve to have a pleasant environment.”
Brenda laughingly reports two biggest challenges to the SPCA landscape are weeds (of course!) and designing around the areas where our doggie visitors are most likely to ‘ah, relieve themselves of the pressure that comes from a Vet visit or spending time in the Adoption Center’. “There are a few spots where no plants would thrive because it’s a natural stopping place for the dogs”, she said. “But that’s certainly not a problem I mind working around!”
The next landscape project is the courtyard between the SPCA’s McClurg Animal Medical Center and the Adoption Center entrance. The Memory Lane bricks will be extended to create a customer sitting area, complete with a shade tarp, and of course some enjoyable Florida-Friendly plantings. You can support this activity by purchasing a brick to serve as a tribute to a loved one or pet through the SPCA’s Ways to Give.
The next time you make a trip to the SPCA Campus, take some time to look at the gardens and educate yourself on various FFL techniques. There are brochures available in the Administration building that describe the plants, discuss rain barrels as well as provide more information on the FFL program.
For more information on the Demonstration Gardens and the Florida Friendly Landscaping™ Program in Polk County, visit http://polkfyn.ifas.ufl.edu.
If you are interested in the Master Gardening program, please visit http://polkhort.ifas.ufl.edu or call the Polk County Extension Service office at 863-519-8677.
Through the tireless efforts of dedicated staff, volunteers and local groups, the SPCA Campus of Kindness maintains its welcoming appearance and continues to function as an essential community organization. The SPCA relies on volunteers to help with everything from kennel cleaning and kitty feeding to cleaning up the campus and dog walking.
Medulla Baptist Church members were on campus today clearing out and weeding some of the SPCA’s overgrown dog walking trails, and cleaning our SPCA vehicles to prepare them for pet transportation and outreach services. Retreating from the summer heat, Medulla Baptist Church volunteers took a break and played with some of the SPCA pups in our shaded outdoor visitation areas.
Our animals love showing their appreciation for our volunteers with slobbery, wet kisses.
Thanks to caring individuals and groups like Medulla Baptist Church, the SPCA is able to care for over 7,000 homeless or abandoned animals each year, and provide countless other services to the community.
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