2012 GreatNonprofits. RedRover Responders volunteers come to the rescue after Superstorm Sandy. Top-Rated Award

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1 2013 WINTER 2012 GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Award RedRover Responders volunteers come to the rescue after Superstorm Sandy MDIC Action Day coming in May Educating and empowering youth through stories Creating safe havens for pets of domestic violence victims Join the On-Call Angels

2 Sutter Brown, California s First Dog, visited Nicole while walking the streets to urge Californians to support funding for education. Greetings... THANKS TO YOUR COMPASSION AND SUPPORT, 2013 promises to be a great year for RedRover. As always, RedRover vigilantly remains on the lookout to help animals and people who most need our help while also working to restore and strengthen the powerful connection that people and animals share. This year, through increased outreach to domestic violence shelters across the country, we are positioned to help even more victims of domestic violence escape safely with their pets (see page 5), and we will be in even more schools helping teachers build empathy in students (see page 4). And check out our plans for My Dog is Cool this year (look right)! We are also thrilled to announce that we received the 2012 Top-Rated Award from GreatNonprofits thanks to supporters like you. Less than 1% of eligible nonprofits have received this distinction. You can read our reviews or write one at Also, our new mobile-friendly website is up. Please visit from your computer or mobile device and learn about more ways to connect with us and make 2013 a great year for animals! Thank you, as always, for your kindness and compassion. Warmly, NICOLE FORSYTH President and CEO RedRover receives Build-A-Bear grant In December 2012, Build-A-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation awarded RedRover a generous grant of $2,500 in support of the RedRover Relief program, which provides funding to low-income pet owners, Good Samaritans, animal rescuers and victims of domestic violence to help them care for animals in life-threatening situations. Thank you, Build-A-Bear! Attention members! Please join us for our 2013 Annual Meeting on May 11, Meet our board of directors and staff, hear our independent auditor's report and more. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. You can attend the meeting by phone, participate via an online presentation or come see us in person in our Sacramento, California, office. To sign up and receive more details, please go to For a listing of RedRover s board of directors and staff, visit: P.O. Box Sacramento, CA TEL FAX WEB info@redrover.org TAX ID # Companion is published quarterly by RedRover and is distributed to its members RedRover. companion WINTER 2013

3 RedRover REPORTERS Save lives on My Dog is Cool Action Day HOT Temperatures Can Be Fatal to Your Dog SHANE AYERS, a police officer in Staunton, Virginia, noticed his office received numerous calls about dogs left in vehicles on warm days. To create more awareness about the dangers these conditions pose, he parked a police truck in front of the store with the most frequent calls. Inside the window, he placed an outdoor thermometer, a large stuffed dog and a sign reading heat kills pets. This simple but eye-catching display resulted in fewer calls about dogs in danger. Officer Ayers has since taken his demonstration to other parking lots and events, and continues to see impressive results. RedRover is excited to announce a new initiative, My Dog is Cool Action Day, an opportunity to build on Officer Ayers success and raise awareness about the dangers of leaving dogs in hot cars. Throughout May, RedRover supporters everywhere will organize My Dog is Cool Action Day events in their own communities. Events may be as simple as animal advocates passing out fliers, or involve local law enforcement, animal control and youth groups. RedRover will provide all the support organizers need, including fliers, posters for storefronts, suggested supply lists, a special online community for organizers, press releases and more. My Dog is Cool Help us reach our goal of 20 My Dog is Cool Action Day events in May. Visit MyDogIsCool.com to: Sign up for an Action Day in your area View a list of Action Days Download an Action Day start-up kit This display, created by a Staunton, Virginia, police officer, resulted in fewer calls about dogs left in hot cars. In Your Words RedRover, and in particular, Esperanza, was truly a blessing for me and my family. Our beloved rescued shepherd, Wyatt, was hit by a car. Because of RedRover, I was able to move forward with my dog s medical care. My kids and I are so grateful, and I plan in the future to take a more active role and give back to other animals in need. RACHEL When I found an abandoned kitty, he was very ill, and I did all I could. But that was not enough, and my prayers were answered when RedRover helped me. They were there to comfort me through the entire ordeal. They helped me develop a beautiful relationship with my cat Omaiyin. Every day with him is cherished. Thank you for everything. PEDRO I donate to RedRover because Omaiyin of their steadfast commitment to animals and animal welfare. Their incredible disaster response efforts, their children s literacy project that educates kids about empathy for and understanding of animals, and their RedRover Relief grants that have given so many desperate animals another chance are why I will continue to donate to this 5-star nonprofit. ERIN Share your RedRover story on GreatNonprofits.org WINTER 2013 companion 1

4 RedRover RESPONDERS Responding to Superstorm Sandy RedRover volunteers help victims of massive East Coast storm IT S THE KIND OF THING YOU SEE ON TELEVISION and think it will never happen to you. Homes leveled. Belongings gone forever. Beloved pets, missing. This was the reality for thousands of families last October, when Superstorm Sandy destroyed communities up and down the New Jersey and New York coastline. Barely a week after the storm struck, 13 RedRover Responders volunteers from 6 states deployed to New Jersey. Thanks to support from donors like you, they staffed 3 different shelters, caring for more than 250 animals who had been separated from their families, rescued after the storm, or whose owners had nowhere else to go because their homes were destroyed. They are my best friends and my family, said Patrick Glenn, a Seaside Heights, New Jersey, resident who huddled with his cats Jeeter and Vincent in his cold and dark apartment until they were separated during an emergency evacuation. I want you to know that without people like you, there would be a whole lot of unhappy people out there, because we all do love our animals. Barely a week after the storm struck, 13 RedRover Responders volunteers from 6 states deployed to New Jersey. One shelter favorite was Buddy, a tail-wagging, medium-sized black dog with tan markings. Superstorm Sandy left Buddy s home uninhabitable, and his family had no choice but to leave RedRover Responders volunteers who set up and staff temporary shelters make it possible for animals to be rescued after catastrophes like Superstorm Sandy. him at the shelter while they looked for a new pet-friendly place to live. They had been searching for a rental and were having a hard time finding a place that would take animals, explained RedRover Emergency Services Manager Beth Gammie. They just wanted him back. Before the RedRover Responders volunteers demobilized, Buddy s family was finally able to take him home for good. Appreciation amid the devastation Susan Sherwin, a volunteer from Boston, Massachusetts, said owners of pets like Buddy appreciated RedRover being there to help address the massive animal need. While I d much rather a cat, dog, or other animal be in his own home with the people who love him, it felt great to be able to provide them with comfort and safety while they waited to go home, she said. 2 companion WINTER 2013

5 Cover photo and other images by Phil Zimmerman. Photography also by RedRover Responders volunteer Marcia Goodman. Amy Turner, a volunteer from West shelter. The volunteers encountered Milford, New Jersey, agreed. They touching reunions between pets and their had such appreciation for the smallest families, and met many evacuees who are gesture, she said. It was a great feeling still struggling to find new housing for to be able to help make a difference. themselves and their pets. Nearly two months after the storm, RedRover Responders volunteers who RedRover Responders volunteers stepped set up and staff temporary shelters make up again to help animals who were it possible for animals to be rescued after catastrophes like Nearly two months after the storm, RedRover Responders volunteers stepped up again to help animals who were still displaced. Superstorm Sandy, Beth said. No organization can commit to rescuing animals still displaced. Starting December 18, in the field unless there is a place for them 13 RedRover Responders volunteers to go, she said. They can t advertise animal deployed to Brooklyn, New York, to rescue hotlines if there aren t people like us provide daily care and comfort to nearly to set up and run the shelters. We make the 200 displaced pets at an emergency rescues possible. Sandy victims go west IN ADDITION TO DEPLOYING VOLUNTEERS to the East Coast, your support enabled RedRover to provide an emergency grant to transport seven cats affected by Sandy from an overwhelmed rescue group in New Jersey to FieldHaven Feline Rescue in Lincoln, California. WINTER 2013 companion 3

6 RedRover READERS Teacher says RedRover Readers program educates and empowers youth SARAH KESTY, a special education resource specialist at an elementary school in Sacramento, California, is trained to implement the RedRover Readers curriculum. She gives up her lunches on Fridays to visit multiple classrooms on her campus. We interviewed Sarah recently about her experiences with the program she says has the power to prevent future problems like animal abuse and neglect by educating and empowering youth. RedRover: What changes have you seen in the students? Sarah: These students have made gains in their abilities to take others perspectives and to think critically. These skills support reading comprehension. Students are excited to connect the stories to their own lives and connect the stories to other text selections. RedRover: How do the students react to the RedRover Readers curriculum? Sarah: Students are engaged and excited. They love hearing the stories and are genuinely relieved when each character s situation is resolved. RedRover: What potential do you see for the program? Sarah: The RedRover Readers curriculum changes students approach to text by putting them in the stories. What would you do? What/why do you think? This approach empowers all students to participate because no answer is wrong. It validates that students are thinkers, not just machines who memorize and learn. RedRover: Why should donors support the RedRover Readers? Sarah: Reading a book and asking questions seems so simple. Teachers do this every day. But the right types of questions combined with a non-judging reader/listener results in lasting learning and growth. Sarah Kesty, a special education resource specialist, says students who participate in the RedRover Readers program have made gains in their abilities to take others perspectives and to think critically. RedRover: How has the RedRover Readers curriculum changed your perspective about teaching? Sarah: I like that RedRover Readers utilizes the power of peer modeling; when children hear one another take compassionate approaches, they see that it s possible for them too. They re not being told what to do, what to think. They re allowed to decide for themselves, and I was so inspired to see that they always choose compassion. Thank you for supporting RedRover and helping teachers like Sarah educate and empower youth. Read our full interview with Sarah at 4 companion WINTER 2013

7 Program NEWS Helping domestic violence shelters become pet-friendly THANKS TO YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT of RedRover s new Safe Housing grant program, we have awarded $10,000 to six domestic violence shelters across the county. RedRover s Safe Housing program provides shelters with the means to create pet-friendly safe housing and provides long-term solutions for families facing domestic abuse. Because so few shelters have the ability to accommodate pets, victims often feel like they only have two options when it comes to their animals: to leave them behind or to remain with their pets and endure continued abuse. The stories we heard reinforced the dire need for this program. One shelter reported that a woman made the difficult The stories we heard reinforced the dire need for this program. decision to leave her three dogs at home with her abuser so she could stay at their emergency shelter, which did not allow animals. The woman called home to check on her beloved pets. When she refused to come home, her angry husband shot and killed one of her dogs while she was on the phone. The woman and her two children immediately left the safety of the family violence shelter to rescue the other dogs, and because the shelter did not provide pet-friendly housing, they never returned. We created Safe Housing grants to prevent tragic situations like 2012 Safe Housing grant recipients Alle-Kiski Area Hope Center, Inc. Tarentum, Pennsylvania Blue Water Safe Horizons Port Huron, Michigan Colorado River Regional Crisis Shelter Parker, Arizona Metropolitan Center for Women and Children, Inc. Jefferson, Louisiana Safe Harbor of Northeast Kentucky, Inc. Ashland, Kentucky Shelter House, Inc. Fort Walton Beach, Florida this from happening, said RedRover Program Manager Esperanza Zúñiga. With strong donor support, the program has the potential to save countless human and animal lives. RedRover is partnering with SAF-T (Sheltering Animals and Families Together) to work toward the goal of having one pet-friendly domestic violence shelter in each state by Learn more at Meet two Superstorm Sandy volunteers DONNA SCHULTZ From: Martinsville, New Jersey Training: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in September, 2012 (and first deployment was less than two months later!) Day job: Registered nurse Animal I would be: Cat or non-captive dolphin My pet sleeps: Kitten on my head, cat on the bed Volunteers because: Animals need care and comfort always but especially in highly stressful situations. They are not able to advocate for themselves so I m HAPPY to help! Favorite volunteering moment: Superstorm Sandy response, lying on my back on the floor with a grateful kitty on my chest kneading and purring away. RICK DUSENBERY From: West Grove, Pennsylvania Pet s theme song: My 12-pound Corgi mix is named Rosie after Bruce Springsteen s song, Rosalita. Volunteers because: It provides an opportunity to stabilize animals in typically unstable environments, offering care, respect and love they need to begin the healing process from less than ideal lives. To show an animal caring and empathy when it s needed most. But I mostly do this because I discovered late in life that I was born to do emergency animal response operations. My pet and I like to: Take a walk in the park together. Well, for Rosie it s less about the walk and more about the journey: Walk walk sniff. Sniff pee sniff. Walk sniff poop. Pee. Done.

8 P.O. Box Sacramento, CA Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Sacramento, CA Permit No. 421 Companion is printed using vegetable-based inks on paper made entirely from recovered fiber. Share our stories! Leave Companion at your doctor s office, gym, lunch room or coffee shop. To protect your privacy, please clip out or blacken your name and address above. Kitten receives lifeline from On-Call Angel IT TOOK A VILLAGE to save Fox, a tiny seven-week-old kitten who was found motionless in a grocery store planter box. Lezlie, a Sacramento, California resident, found the injured kitten and immediately rushed him to a vet clinic. When she learned Fox had two broken legs and treatment would cost thousands of dollars, she reached out to RedRover for help. Equipped with fundraising tips and new resources, Lezlie chipped away at raising the funds needed for the specialty surgery. Meanwhile, Fox required round-the-clock care as he waited for some relief. Thousands of miles away, Rose, a New York resident and RedRover supporter, came through just in time when she signed up as an On-Call Angel. Her donation was put to immediate use to close the gap in funding and allowed Lezlie to schedule Fox s treatment. Rose made the donation in honor of her canine companion, Roxanne, who is a cancer survivor. When Roxanne was diagnosed with cancer, Rose and her husband spared no expense to get their best friend the finest treatment possible. To this day, I feel like crying when I think of how horrible it would have been to know that there was a way to help Roxanne, but we couldn t afford it, Rose explained. So I really can feel for anyone in that situation. You, too, can give the gift of lifesaving care. To learn more about becoming one of RedRover s On-Call Angels, please contact Linda Bak at lbak@redrover.org. A donation from a RedRover On-Call Angel in honor of her dog, Roxanne, helped pay for veterinary care to save Fox, a kitten found injured and abandoned at a grocery store. Roxanne