New Volunteer Training

March 2015Nichole Boutilier

HI!

• Welcome to Tails of Help (ToH)• Thank you for volunteering your time to

support low income pet owners in keeping their pets healthy and at home

• This presentation is intended to give you the important information and “one liners” to answer questions from the public about ToH

• Go to the next slide for more about ToH!

What’s this all about?!

• The following slides will provide you with some background of ToH to help you be a great volunteer

• We want to help prepare you to talk about Tails of Help with other pet owners

• We want to lessen some “new guy or girl” jitters! • We want to help you have fun while being a Tails of

Helper

PS: All this info can also be found on our website tailsofhelp.ca !

Frequently Asked Questions from volunteers & the public

• What is Tails of Help?• What do you do?• Who do you help? Who is funding available

to?• How do I get funding support?• How can I help Tails of Help?

What is Tails of Help? ToH is:

• A foundation with Charitable Status from the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA)

• Dedicated to providing assistance to Alberta pet owners facing financial hardship whose companion animal is ill or injured and requires essential veterinary care

• Delivered through Alberta veterinary clinics• Always grateful for support! Our volunteers are

our success.

What does Tails of Help do? ToH:

• Is working to reduce forced and unnecessary surrender or euthansia of pets due to an owner’s financial hardship

• Receives applications for a client in financial need whose pet is sick or injured

• Strives to educate the public on the cost and responsibilities of pet ownership, including disease and injury prevention

Who do we help?

• Funding is available to:– Senior Citizens that receive the Federal Guaranteed Income

Supplement (GIS) – Assured Income for Severely Handicapped (AISH) recipients

• Other qualifying criteria for pet owners include:– Is an adult resident of Alberta– Agrees to contribute to the cost of care for their pet– Agrees to follow the directions of the veterinarian regarding

aftercare– Provides the nominating veterinarian with supporting

documentation of financial qualification in one of the above categories

Who do we help?

• If they have a qualifying animal, meaning– Is an "owned animal" presented to a participating

veterinary practice (Sorry rescue groups, this program is for individual pet owners)

– Is ill or injured and veterinary care is required – Failure to treat would result in the death of the

animal, abandonment, euthanasia for humane reasons, or the surrender of the animal.

Yes, but how do we help?! Next…!

How does someone in need get assistance?

• Possible qualified pet owners should:• Contact a local veterinary clinic and talk to

the staff• Say they heard about Tails of Help and

need some help with their pet and paying for care

• Veterinary staff can submit an application

How can I help ToH?

VOLUNTEER! We need people to:• Help out with spreading awareness of ToH at events like

Edmonton/Calgary Pet Expo, Pets in the Park and more• Help out with fundraising efforts at golf tournaments and dog walks • Participate on committees like Communications, Education and our

Board of Directors

SPONSOR!• Look for sponsors for fundraising events, in particular our

golf tournament in September 2015

DONATE!• Raise funds go to provide treatment for sick or injured pets and

keep them with their families

Ready for your test?!

You are at Edmonton Pet Expo and a very interested person comes to ask the following

questions.

See if you can answer them! Don’t worry, one line answers are there too! Just click to

reveal.

What is Tails of Help?

• We are a charitable foundation dedicated to providing financial assistance for low income pet owners to help provide treatment for sick or injured pets and keep them with their families

Can everyone get money?

• No, pet owners must meet a financial needs assessment.

• We currently support seniors receiving Guaranteed Income Subsidy and people receiving AISH

• We hope to be able to help more people as we grow and raise funds!

If I donate, do I get a tax receipt?

• Yes, all donations over $20 qualify for a tax deductible receipt

• ToH has Charitable Organization status from Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA)

I’ve never heard of Tails of Help.

• At the end of 2013, we began delivering funding for pets and families in need

• Every person you talk to can help by spreading the news about Tails of Help and what we do

How many people has ToH helped?

• By the end of 2014, our first full year delivering aid, ToH has provided funding to help over 40 Alberta pets and their families.

• During that time, – ToH contributed over $26,000 for essential treatment– Veterinarians contributed in kind: over $17,000– Owners contributed: over $17,000

• This funding enabled veterinary treatment for a wide variety of illnesses and injuries, including dental diseases, torn ligaments, fractures, tumors, anemia, diabetes, and many others.

•

Do pet owners have to pay any money?

• We expect that pet owners will contribute what they can to the care of their pet. This shows their commitment and dedication to the pet.

• Veterinary practices also contribute significantly to each case.

• Our hope is the owner is able to pay 1/3, veterinary practice pays 1/3 and Tails of Help pays 1/3 of the medical costs.

• We currently have an annual maximum funding limit of $1000 each year for individual Alberta veterinary clinics

How can I donate?

• This answer will depend on the event you are participating in

• Anytime via the website– Tailsofhelp.ca/give

• At some events ToH will be set up to take cash donations

• At some events ToH T-Shirts will be available for purchase @ $20 each

• At any events credit/debit card donations can be taken by using smartphone or tablets to enter the donation through the ToH webpage tailsofhelp.ca/give

What kind of veterinary care do you support?

• Care for sick or injured pets where treatment is needed to prevent the pet from suffering, dying or requiring euthanasia. It is up to the owner and the veterinarian to determine what is best for the pet and the family

• We do not provide funding for euthanasia, spays, neuters or vaccinations.– Not because we don’t believe in humane euthanasia, but

because many veterinary practices offer that service to a family and pet in need is our focus is on treatment to get pets healthy and stay with their loving families

– There are other programs that offer free or low cost spays and neuters to the same at risk group. Direct inquiries to the Edmonton Humane Society PALS program

Great job! You are ready to talk to real people!

• Get a question you can’t answer?• Don’t panic & DON’T GUESS!• Ask another volunteer to help out

– ToH will always schedule at least 2 volunteers at a time at events

• Or tell the person you don’t know and offer to find out. Take their name and email or phone number for follow up later– Everyone has been at a new job before, don’t sweat it! That’s

part of learning. All you can do is try to find out the answer or suggest they check the website

– Better yet, check the website using their smartphone! Then they can tour around more!

Ready to hit the ground running?!

• We are actively recruiting volunteers for the following events:– Calgary Pet Expo; April 24-26, 2015– Pets in the Park, Edmonton; June 28, 2015– ToH Golf Tournament and Fundraiser in Edmonton;

September 11, 2015• Big event is planned and we will need many volunteers to make

this a fun and successful event

• Want to help more? Attend an event and join a committee! – Got hands on ToH experience at an awareness or

fundraising event? And want to help more?! Contact Nichole, the Volunteer Coordinator, for positions available

Thank you!

• Thanks for learning about ToH• We look forward to learning more about you as you

become a Tails of Helper. • Get your ToH t-shirt!

– At your first ToH event, you will be given a ToH t-shirt. Wear it proudly at all ToH events and spread the news!

• Need more info?– Call or email Nichole for more information

• Have feedback?– At any time, please talk with Nichole or any of our Directors

about your Tails of Help experience. It is what will help us get better!

Need to talk to someone more? Call Nichole!

• Nichole Boutilier, RVT• ToH Director and Volunteer Coordinator• Email: nichole.boutilier@tailsofhelp.ca