8 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday January 10, 2009 www.oakvillebeaver.com Charity can take many forms at the ODHS T he impact of difficult economic times is felt by all charitable organizations, including the Oakville and District Humane Society. (ODHS). Although the shelter is dependent upon financial donations to operate, there are many ways in which people can still show their support without having to go to their bank. Volunteering your time has a huge impact on the ODHS. The shelter currently has 200 volunteers that work in a variety of capacities -- both manual labour, customer service, foster care and on the Board. The ODHS is currently recruiting people for the following important roles: · Clean Team -- help clean and feed the animals · Matchmakers -- show cats to potential adopting families on weekends and evenings · Snow Removal -- shovel out the front entrance way following snowstorms · Wash and Fold -- if you like to do laundry then this is the job for you. · Foster homes -- a great way to bring a needy animal into your home for a while until it is ready for adoption. Lots of foster homes are required in the spring and summer in particular for expecting mother cats, kittens and orphaned kittens looking for a safe place to grow. If you'd rather go the `extra' mile, then the next time you are out shopping for household products consider throwing seconds in your cart of some well-used shelter items. Paper towels, tissues, toilet paper, pet-friendly salt, pens, paper, garbage bags, stamps, laundry detergent, batteries and stationery items are wonderful things to share with the ODHS. Is there too much Canadian Tire money stashed in your sock drawer? Receive a gift card at Christmas for a store that you don't shop at? Consider all of the items that could be obtained for the shelter with your donation: shovels, snow scrapers for the ODHS THE A E BIGGEST SEVLR! E FREE CENTRAL AIR Plus: NO Payment NO Interest For 6 Months O.A.C. (Installation Extra) PET OF THE WEEK: Misty is a lovely girl, but shy. For more information on animals available for adoption, visit www.oakvillehumane.ca. vans, light bulbs. There are many good ways to put these unused items to use. New Year's cleaning may also find you with a pile of useful items that could be recycled instead of thrown away. Old towels, sheets, blankets, newspapers (used in cages and sold for recycling), pet supplies (carriers, 6' leashes, sensation harnesses, toys), box bottoms (8" x 14" maximum) and even pet medications can have value at the shelter. If you are currently putting out a lot of paper items in recycling, why not consider giving it to the shelter. Newspapers can be used to line cages and the extra paper makes money for the animals. Sick animals find themselves at the shelter all the time. With more than 5,000 animals a year being served by the ODHS, medical expenses can add up. If you have a pet medication that is not stale dated consider donating it to the shelter. Other medical supplies such as gauze pads and rolls and bandage tape would be put to good use. Charitable gifts made to the ODHS come in many forms. If you are employed in a service based industry, you may choose to join other service providers who offer discounts or small gifts to the shelter's "Share the Care" members. People who adopt from the shelter show their support by giving an animal a home. Owners that license their dog, obtain an identification tag or participate in shelter events, are all showing their support for the work of the shelter, while helping to prevent their pet from an extended stay at the shelter. Monthly donations of $10 can make a big difference in the life of a shelter animal. For those who want to give to the ODHS in other ways, the list is endless. To find out how you can support your local shelter, contact the ODHS at 905-845-1551. Purchase a Hi Efficiency Furnace and Receive a OVER 60,000 SATISFIED CUSTOMERS Reserve now and you will receive a central air absolutely free. This is a great opportunity to replace your old inefficient furnace and air conditioner with high-efficiency and greatly reduce your utility bill. Call today to book an appointment with our Professional Home Comfort Advisors. LIMITED TIME OFFER. 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If Ford went out of business, those tax revenues would disappear. Our local school boards in Halton would have to come up with millions more from homeowners. In fact, if the Detroit Three closed down in Canada, it would cost our governments more in lost revenue and increased benefits for unemployed workers than any failed loan. I suspect if automobile manufacturing wasn't in Canada, we'd be trying to create it. The good news is, Ford is far along in its transition to this new economy and is not asking for any loans from the government at this time. It may never need to. Tax payers' money should only be offered to relieve private companies under strict conditions. Any offer should include longterm commitments to manufacture cars and keep jobs in Canada, to make greener cars and to not pay out golden parachutes or big performance bonuses to auto executives who bear significant responsibility for the situation. I would appreciate hearing your ideas on what else should be included. On Jan. 27, we will present a dynamic budget for difficult times that addresses the needs of laid-off workers, industries in transition, businesses and individual Canadians.