*** LAST DAY TO VOTE IN THE SHELTER CHALLENGE ***

Please VOTE & SHARE for RIKKI’S REFUGE in the Animal Rescue Site SHELTER CHALLENGE today! Thank you!

Vote here: http://www.shelterchallenge.com/web/charityusa/nomineehome?userId=53331&nomineeId=17448

Again this holiday season, Rikki’s Refuge will have Angel Trees located at several stores throught Central Virginia ~ Orange, Fredericksburg, Culpeper, and Charlottesville.  All trees should be in stores by Thanksgiving!

These trees will be decorated with ornaments that feature pictures of some of our animal ambassadors, along with some background information about each individual.  By way of these ornaments, each animal will be requesting what he or she most wants to get from Santa this Christmas for themselves and their friends at Rikki’s.  Not surprisingly, it’s usually something edible!  We hope that if you are able, you will stop by one of the stores listed below and choose an ornament from one of our  Angel Trees and grant the wish of one of our animal residents.  You can purchase the requested items at that store, and leave it beneath the tree for one of our elves to pick up.  During the colder months, all of the animals at Rikki’s consume more food, because it takes a lot more of their energy to keep themselves warm.  This means that your donations of food at this time will be especially welcome!  Please know that everyone at Rikki’s Refuge ~ residents, staff, and volunteers alike ~ wish you a bright and beautiful holiday season!  

*List of Angel Tree locations (Thank you to all participating stores!)

Orange
    Tractor Supply
    Dollar General 
    Orange-Madison Co-op
Culpeper
    Tractor Supply
    Culpeper Animal Hospital
    Culpeper Co-op (Farm & Home Center)
Fredericksburg
    Roxbury Farm & Garden
    Giant at Hilltop
    360 Feed Supply
    PetCo
    Tractor Supply
    Harvest Market
    Confederate Ridge Animal Hospital
    Re-Tail Thrift Store
Charlottesville
    Pet Supplies Plus

Can you help in Fredericksburg, VA in December? Contact Nora at nelmg@aol.com if you can work one of the shifts listed above. THANKS!

All donations received go directly to Rikki’s Refuge and it’s lots of fun.

If you can help for an evening or just a couple of hours please contact Ron Herfurth (Rikki’s Refuge Director of Serving Cats) at:

topcat@cstone.net

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! Santa is coming! Santa is coming! Santa is coming to Re-Tail in December! He’ll be there so that you can get your pet’s (or child, or entire family!) picture taken with him! For a $10 donation, you will get a 4″x6″ print in a photo card! And since there may be some adorable blooper shots taken (that you like, but not to put on your Christmas card) we’ll be happy to e-mail all of the pictures of your pets to you!
Photos will be taken on Saturday, Dec. 6, 13, and 20 from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., and Sunday Dec. 7 and 14 from 1:00 until 4:00, and Friday, Dec. 12 from 11:00 until 3:00
Call for an appointment (but walk-ins are welcome, too) 540-891-5300.
Re-Tail is located at 3503 Lafayette Blvd., Fredericksburg, Va., 22408.

YOU ARE INVITED! We are so THANKFUL for our amazing volunteers and generous friends that we would like to invite you to our Annual ThanksLiving Cruelty-Free Feast, where we dine WITH our friends and not ON our friends. We will gather on Saturday, November 22 starting at 3:00pm at our Life Center, located next to the Refuge. We would ask for a donation of $25 and/or a VEGETARIAN potluck dish to share. For more information and to RSVP, please contact Lolly at: lollyb65@gmail.com

WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THANKSLIVING DAY??? Rikki’s Refuge ThanksLIVING Day Tour and Reception, Thursday, November 27. Tour starts at Noon and Reception at 2:00pm. This year, if you PROMISE to NOT eat any of my friends during the holiday season, your tickets are FREE. But you must have a reservation and tickets so contact us at: mail@rikkisrefuge.org

URGENT ~ Northern Virginia PUMPKIN PEOPLE! We only have 3 wonderful volunteers committed to dates and churches so far. We already have FIVE churches signed up to give us their pumpkins, so already the volunteer to pumpkin pickup ratio is off. Are you in the Northern Virginia area? CAN YOU HELP?

Churches count on us to clear our their pumpkin patches and we count on those pumpkins each year as a HUGE part of our animal feed for the fall. This could also affect the churches willingness to give us their pumpkins next year if we can’t clear their lots.

This Saturday and Sunday, NOV 1 & 2 (and in some cases maybe the days following) we have a HUGE NEED for volunteers to help us get the pumpkins from the churches. Trucks, vans, SUVs and even a big car will work if you want to help! EMAIL FRED ASAP at fred@z9a.com or Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org..

Did you know that all our animals and birds, with the exception of our cats and dogs, eat pumpkins? Donated pumpkins help off-set the cost of grain and hay!

CLASS AT RIKKI’S REFUGE!
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2014 AT 7:00 PM EST.
We are beginning a new discussion on a new book:
“Anatomy of the Spirit” by Caroline Myss Ph.D.
Bring a vegan or vegetarion dish to share for the after-class pot-luck!

 RIKKI’S REFUGE 5K RACE/WALK
November 1, 2014 at 9:00 AM
Come Join us at beautiful Lake Anna State Park for the 6th annual Rikki’s 5K Run/Walk
Your entry fee of $25.00 (or $30.00 on race day) will help the over 1200 animals who call Rikki’s Refuge their home. Checks should be made to Rikki’s Refuge. Donations of pet food and/or other supplies are welcome.
Awards will be presented to the first male and female finisher and the first 3 in each age group (19-under, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60-up). Also the team with the most runners/walkers. All pre- registered runners are guaranteed a T-Shirt. The race will be held rain or shine.
The race is sponsored by: Patterson’s Construction, Ed’s Awards & Engraving, VA Runner, Lake Anna State Park, Giant Food Stores, Meadows Farms, and The REACH program.
Entry Forms can be picked up at: VA Runner, Ed’s Awards & Engraving, Giant Food Stores, 360 Feeds or email bugbane30@gmail.com for more information.
Rikki’s Refuge in Orange County, Virginia, is a 400 acre, no-kill, all species peaceful sanctuary supported solely by donations of kind and loving individuals. The refuge is home to over 1200 animals of over 20 different species, including but not limited to cats, dogs, sheep, goats, rabbits, pigs, emus, chickens, ducks, geese, a chukar, peacocks, and more. It is owned and operated by Life Unlimited of Virginia, Inc. an approved not-for profit Virginia Corporation and IRS tax code 501(c)(3) corporation as determined by the IRS. Federal Tax-ID number 54-1911042. A financial statement is available upon written request from the State Office of Consumer Affairs.

THE GREAT PUMPKIN HAUL FOR RIKKI’S REFUGE
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014 AT 9:00 AM
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!
Saturday, Nov 1, 9am at Miller Farms Market, 12101 Orange Plank Rd., Locust Grove, VA. Contact: Nora Eldridge, Pumpkin Co-ordinator, 540-729-2797 for directions to the farm, directions to Rikki’s Refuge and where to drop the pumpkins at the refuge.
Every autumn, farms, pumpkin patches and churches around Virginia give us their unsold pumpkins and squash. All we have to do is get there with trucks, SUV’s, horse trailers and other vehicles that can carry a lot of weight, load those pumpkins up and bring them to Rikki’s. The cows have caught on fast! When they see the trucks coming in, they run along the fence to the gate and wait impatiently for all those golden goodies to be off-loaded into their field. Just about every animal at the refuge eats the pumpkins and it goes a long way toward stretching out the food budget!
This is a fun day! Put on your jeans and boots, pack up everyone who wants to help and join us! After a couple of hours of loading pumpkins, you’ll be able to skip the gym!

FRED’S PUMPKIN PROJECT FOR RIKKI’S REFUGE
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2014
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2014
(Possible additional dates through the following week!)
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO SIGN UP ASAP!
LOCATIONS: Alexandria, Vienna, Fairfax and Burke, Virginia
We need to get pumpkin pick-ups set up as quickly as possible, so if you would like to help, please contact us right away. Trucks, Vans and SUVs work well, but if you own a car and want to help, that’s OK, we can use any help we can get!
To sign up to haul pumpkins, please email FRED at fred@z9a.com or Vincent@RikkisRefuge.org
Did you know that all our animals and birds, with exception of our cats and dogs, eat pumpkins? Donated pumpkins help off-set the cost of grain and hay!
When volunteering your own vehicle to help a registered non-profit, don’t forget that your mileage/gas is claimable on your taxes!