Greetings MaxFund Volunteers!
If your newsletter doesn't look pretty, with cool graphics and things, check out http://www.maxfundvolunteers.org/newsletters/newsletter0110.html

• The year began with changes to the volunteer program - photo badges for volunteers, screening for potential volunteers, and enhanced mentoring procedures for new volunteers. I appreciate everyone who stuck with us through the changes, I think we have really come out better as a result. We had nearly 500 volunteers either attend the meetings or attend new volunteer orientations this year and I continue to see tons of fabulous volunteers at the shelter, at fundraising events and out in the community! (If you are still receiving the newsletters and interested in volunteering at the shelter, but still haven't had a chance to get your photo badge, please visit www.maxfundvolunteers.org/currentvolunteer.html for information on how to get yours!)
• MaxFund welcomed a new Executive Director - Tony Willemse. Tony had been President of the Board of Directors for several years and involved with MaxFund for quite some time. I think we would all agree that Tony has been doing a great job with getting MaxFund out in the community, raising funds and awareness, keeping MaxFund afloat and at the same time ensuring MaxFund animals are receiving proper care.
• We've seen many longterm MaxFund residents go into foster or permanent homes this year! We are continually impressed by Donna's ability to find foster homes for some of MaxFund's hard to place animals, and by the turnarounds those animals see once in foster care! Chef/Chief, who had been at the shelter off and on for several years, was adopted by MaxFund's former foster coordinator. James, who is truly a MaxFund miracle dog - coming in blind and fearful from the streets of New Mexico, was treated and made able to see, but still not making it out of the back office for several years, found his foster - and eventually permanent - home. Itabit is thriving in his new home and has seen a complete attitude transformation. Gus, who was featured in my newsletters more than any other cat, has also found his home and is doing excellent. Caesar, a long-term Akita at the shelter went home with the vet who treated him when he needed ACL surgery at the beginning of the year. Jem, who was brought in as a stray years ago and needed a lot of behavioral work, found his forever home with his CHAMPS trainer! Several long-term resident cats - Moxy (at the shelter at least 12 years), Meow Meow (at least 10 years), Cosmic (at least 5 years), and Emerson (at least 4 years), all found their forever homes. The list could go on and on, but many of these animals are celebrating the arrival of 2010 in their forever homes, thanks so much to the volunteers and staff who all worked tirelessly to get them adopted!
• While the losses of such celebrities as Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze, and Farrah Fawcett certainly had their impacts this year, MaxFund also noted the passing of several of our animals - which at most shelters would go unnoticed. This year we said goodbye to Lotto, Boots, Quincy, Marty, Lacy, Limpy, Ray Charles, Lil Boy, Diva, Casper, Sylvestor, Beau, Cole, Rayna, Missy, and others.
• The PetsMart adoption program has been going very well this year - many cats who needed a change of scenery from the shelter were able to find it - and approximately 60 cats were adopted from PetsMart this year. We've also had dogs able to get out of the shelter thanks to several area Camp Bow Wow locations, where MaxFund dogs in need of socialization are getting it - by becoming "permanent yet temporary" guests at Camp Bow Wow Doggie Day-Care facilities. This has resulted in the adoption of several of our more challenging dogs, as well as allowing them to have a lot of fun in the process!
• Dr. Papides, the puppy mill chihuahua with a fabulous story and amazing spirit beat out 60,000 contestants from around the country to win America's Cutest Dog Competition, with a grand prize of $1 million, which his owner agreed to split between MaxFund and Denver Dumb Friends League (payments spread out over 30 years, of course, but still very exciting news and a lot of great publicity for the shelter!)
• We got to see some truly awesome improvements to the shelter throughout the year - starting with the new mobile adoption van which allows us to take dogs and cats to events we previously couldn't, thanks to heating and air conditioning and built-in cages! We also saw much of the clutter of the shelter removed, walls painted a warm new color, a mural in the lobby, and other shelter improvements that have gone a long way to make the shelter a more comfortable and inviting atmosphere! Also recently announced was the acquisition of the abandoned property across the street from MaxFund for use as a new cat facility. Once the cats are relocated, the shelter will receive some more remodeling as well as some much needed meet and greet rooms, indoor play rooms, etc.!
• We had several ongoing successful events - the 13th annual Lucky Mutt Strut, the 21st Annual Puttin on the Max at the Brown Palace, the 3rd annual Molly Dharma run, several fabulous Mobile Adoption events and more! These all helped raise awareness and funds for MaxFund, as well as helping getting our animals adopted! Thanks to many many volunteers, the gift wrapping program at area stores this holiday season was again a success and MaxFund raised several thousand dollars as well as a lot of awareness!
• While one major Denver animal shelter was forced to close its doors, and at least two other shelters/pet rescue groups came under fire from the Department of Agriculture for the care of their animals and cleanliness of their facilities, MaxFund continues to pass all inspections, continues in excellent standing with the Better Business Bureau as a BBB-accredited charity, as well as our four-star ranking with Charity Navigator! Currently we are the only animal rescue group in the Denver (and one of only two animal rescue groups in the entire state of Colorado) with a four-star Charity Navigator ranking, which is another testament to how devoted we are to our mission and how well we spend the money that is so graciously donated to our cause.
• There are many more exciting things coming down the line for 2010, and I'm really excited to see what the future has to hold, and I hope you do too! These great things continue to happen because of everyone who has put the time and effort into the animals at the shelter as well as ensuring that the shelters financial needs are being met. I would hate to think of a Denver without a MaxFund, and I'd to think of a MaxFund without you!

Some of the things we can use more volunteers for currently. For more detailed information click the applicable links or just visit the Volunteer Opportunities page!

• Mobile Adoption Location Coordinators - Helping with a specific (or multiple) locations to make sure mobile adoptions are scheduled properly and run smoothly! We need at least three location coordinators but if we had more, we have plenty of locations we can use help with!
• Champs Program - CHAMPS program is our dog training program, and we are currently looking for a new trainer! If you are interested, please visit the Volunteer Opportunities Page for more details.
• Volunteer Mentors - Assisting new volunteers to get comfortable with the process and with the shelter. We can always use more mentors, the more people there is to help the newer volunteers the better! You must have the experience to feel comfortable with what you are doing at the shelter and be able to pass their experience along to others.
• Foster Families - We are always looking to add more foster families to help get some of MaxFund's animals out of the shelter and transition into adoptable status! We are especially looking for families able to provide foster homes for cats! One thing we are always looking for is people who can take dogs but don't currently have dogs, as well as families who can take cats, but don't currently have cats for some of our animals that don't play well with others.

Each month we highlight a few of our furries in need of a foster home, visit the Foster Family Page for the full list! If you are interested in helping out with foster care, please contact Donna.

Foster Homes Needed, especially for cats! - We are in desperate need of more foster homes for dogs and cats, but ESPECIALLY for cats! Cat fostering is one way volunteers can help out the shelter animals and we have many looking for homes! Even fi we don't have a compatable home for you right now we always need several fosters on standby should the need arise. If you are not able to foster a cat or dog at this time, perhaps you know of other animal lovers who may be interested? Think about your friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, etc. Fosters don't need to go through the whole volunteer orientation process, just an application and interview process to make sure they are a good fit! For more information about the process, visit the Foster Family Page or contact our Foster Coordinator Donna Ryan at fosters@maxfundvolunteers.org or 303-332-7276 to learn more.

	Jake - Jake has recently graduated from a very extensive training program, thanks to some MaxFund volunteers who sponsored this training, he is ready to thrive away from the shelter and ensure he keeps up his good behavior!
	Uncle Sam - Uncle Sam was featured last month, we thought he had days or weeks at the most to live, but he's still around, and we know he doesn't have ringworm so if you would be willing to offer some hospice care, I'm sure he'd love to spent out his final time with you.
	Reuben - Reuben is a strong and highly energetic dog who needs someone to help him with training, behavior and learning to be a good canine citizen!
	Kiki - Kiki is a big cat with a big heart, just needs the opportunity to share it! Can you open up your house for Kiki until a permanent home can be found?
	Kane & Sheeba - Kane & Sheeba continue to grow and thrive, but with so many great foster successes lately, I'd LOVE to see these two find a home outside of the shelter!

Volunteer of the Month - The MaxFund greatly appreciates all volunteers, and we are so thankful to all of you who take time out of your lives to help our cats and dogs. We implemented the Volunteer of the Month award so we can honor those volunteers who go above and beyond. We received some great nominations, and January's Volunteer of the month is Louise Pickford.

If you are interested in nominating a fellow volunteer for volunteer of the month, please visit the Volunteer of the Month page, and jump to the bottom of the page for nomination information. Volunteers of the month not only get the "award" of being in the newsletter and on the webpage, their name on volunteer of the month plaque at the shelter (currently being updated) but also receive this cool gold-plated lapel pin (lapel pin not shown actual size)

These are a few different ways you can help MaxFund, aside from volunteering your time... by raising funds and awareness! More detailed information can be found on the Other Ways to Help page or by clicking on each item!