WAYS TO DONATE

There are many ways that you can help support The Tenth Life. The following is a list of those ways. Please click on each link for more information!

JustGive.org: You can now submit a donation to The Tenth Life via JustGive.org! JustGive is a non-profit website that specializes in helping other non-profits (like us!) collect donations online! When you click on the link below, you will be taken to The Tenth Life's donation page. All you need to do is enter your email address, a donation amount, and a credit/debit card number. All major cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express) are accepted and their secure servers ensure that your information is protected with the highest level security.

You will receive a confirmation email for your donation, as well as all necessary documentation for reporting your gift on your taxes. Since we have to type up the letters for cash and check donations ourselves, submitting your gift online puts the task of creating the letters on JustGive's automated system. This eliminates some of the time we spend manually creating every letter, which means more time for the kitties! When you donate through JustGive.org, we receive 97 cents of every dollar! You can find answers to some of the questions you may have about donating through JustGive.org here. To submit a donation to The Tenth Life, click the following link:

Cash: The size is always right and so is the color, therefore it is an ideal gift! The cash donations to The Tenth Life are tax deductible (if you itemize on your taxes), and are used for a variety of purposes. The day-to-day operation of the organization is the primary use. The monies are used for food, litter, medicines, expendable supplies, utilities, repairs to the structure, advertising (perpetual ad in The Dayton Daily News), and the Veterinarian’s salary.

United Way/CFC: One very easy way to donate cash to The Tenth Life is through United Way or Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). To contribute to The Tenth Life via the United Way, you are required to write in “The Tenth Life Pet Therapy Program, P.O. Box 178, Alpha, Ohio 45301-0178” in the designation block of the contribution form. It is a bit simpler with CFC in that there is an organization number (32031 this year) in the listing of charities. These are the combined largest source of income for The Tenth Life.

Volunteer at The Tenth Life: We always need more volunteers at The Tenth Life. Even though we have a dedicated group of volunteers who do most of the everyday care for the cats, there is always a need for more. The volunteers sweep floors, scoop litter boxes, give food and water, clean walls and furniture, and give lots of attention and love to the cats. We have divided the facility into segments which require no more than a couple of hours of your time once a week to ensure that the cats have the best living arrangements we can provide. We also have volunteers who provide support to craft sales, the flower sale, the greenery sale, and other labor-intensive activity which do not require you to actually interface with the cats. It takes approximately seven people each day to keep the cats’ living areas clean and give them the love that they deserve. Please consider volunteering; you would love the interaction with the cats and other cat lovers. It is truly a rewarding experience!

Supplies: There is always a need for expendable supplies such as:

Small paper plates: We use small paper plates (approximately 6-7”) to feed canned food to those cats in need of a soft food diet. After dental surgery or to hide medication are the primary reasons to feed the soft food, and it is not practical to use the larger plates for this purpose. The small plates will fit in a cage or on a chair where the large plates are too big for those areas.

Pill Bottles: We often store medication in the rooms when a cat is on longer-term use of a drug for a heart or thyroid condition. The container of choice is your used prescription bottles. The smaller bottles (3-4” tall and 1” diameter) are the ideal size. If it is free of all labels, it allows us to write on the bottle or use our own label to identify the recipient of the medication and the dosage amount.

Liquid Cleaner: We have to be careful of the contents of most commercial cleaning products. Phenol is the ingredient we must avoid. It can be toxic to cats and, therefore, should not be used to clean the chairs, floor, walls, etc. with which they come in contact. The best products available at your grocery are Pine cleaners, Mr Clean, and Spic-and-Span. We hate to be really choosy when someone is donating supplies, but we also must be aware of the dangers of using the wrong products.

Postage Stamps: Like any organization, we do have to use the postal system. This requires the use of postage stamps. If you want to donate postage stamps, they will be used and greatly appreciated.

Spray Bottles: We use a huge number of spray bottles in the daily maintenance of the facility. Unfortunately, most spray bottles have a very short life span. They clog and break easily. Spray bottles are available at most hardware stores, variety stores such as Dollar Tree or Dollar Store, and larger grocery stores.

Canned Cat Food: Although we never recommend a soft food diet for your cat, there are occasions when it is necessary to use soft food. After dental procedures (cleaning or extraction), after surgery, or when a catisn’t feeling well, it is often a good thing to give the cat some soft food. If you plan to donate canned food, we do request that you avoid some grocery store brands as they are not really very high in quality. The brands of canned food which we normally use are: Iams, Science Diet, Friskies, and Fancy Feast. If kitty is recovering from illness or surgery, it is better to give them a quality food which will help with the healingprocess.

Save For The Cats: The following is a list of those things which you can easily save for the cats:

Pennies: Most of us would rather not have to deal with carrying pennies. They are more trouble than they are worth. If you accumulate your unwanted pennies in a jar or a can, they soon add up to something worthwhile. We received over $1,000 in 2008 in donated pennies. You can drop them off at The Tenth Life at your convenience. Many people drop them off when they are at the facility in support of other fund raisers such as the annual flower sale, pie sales, wreath sales, etc. You can also bring them to our booth at Street Fair in Yellow Springs or the Popcorn Festival in Beavercreek. You do not have to wrap them. We have someone who loves to count and wrap the pennies and we like to make sure they stay busy.

Coupons: We are able to use many newspaper or magazine cat food and litter coupons that are sent to us by our supporters. We do purchase some of these products from our regular suppliers and discount coupons help to defray some of that expense. Coupons which we do use are: Iams, Science Diet, Friskies, Fancy Feast, Fresh Step litter, any brand of paper towels, and toilet tissue. You can bring the coupons to The Tenth Life or mail them to our Post Office box in Alpha.

Aluminum: In 2008, we received $3,500 from recycling aluminum. The primary sources of recyclable aluminum are from drink cans and cat/dog food cans. We also have recycled aluminum doors, windows, siding, and spouting. You can bring the aluminum to The Tenth Life or call us if you cannot bring it yourself. We can arrange for pick-up at your home or place of business. Since the price of aluminum is fairy volatile, we either make a lot or a little from the recycling. But, most importantly, everything we get is more than we had and recycling helps the environment.

Paw Points: We use Fresh Step cat litter at The Tenth Life for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the litter is a premium litter which generates less dust that most other litters. Secondarily, they have a program called the Paw Points program which allows us to redeem the paw points for more litter. The Fresh Step containers (bags, boxes, and pails) have paw points on or in them. For instance, the 21 pound bag of Fresh Step litter has a code worth 35 paw points and the 20 pound scoopable litter has an envelope in it for 50 paw points. The way we use these paw points is to redeem them for coupons applicable to the purchase of more litter.

Purchase: There is always a minimum of one fund raiser going on at The Tenth Life. The following is a list of our major fund raisers:

Flower and Plant Sale: Every year in May we have a flower sale. The flowers, plants, and baskets are supplied by Furst Florist and Greenhouses. We offer a huge selection of annuals, perennials, bedding plants, veggies, herbs, and hanging baskets. Furst supplies the most beautiful plants available in this area and the quality is unsurpassed. This sale has grown from a very modest beginning over 20 years ago to a huge undertaking. In 2009, the sale was over $26,000! That is a lot of flowers! We send out the order blank for the flower sale in late January or early February each year and have the flowers available for pick-up the week before Mother’s Day in May. Join the fun! We will have the flower order available on this web site by mid-January. Print it, fill it out, and send it in with your payment. You won’t be disappointed with your flowers!

The 2010 Flower and Plant Sale order form is now online! Please note that it also includes this spring's Pie Sale order form for your convenience! Download

Pie Sales: We have three pie sales each year. The pies are supplied by Mehaffie’s, which is known throughout the area for their high quality products. We offer the pies for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The order blanks are incorporated in our newsletter or you can go to this web site and check the calendar for availability. We always offer a variety of fruit pies, pecan pies, lemon meringue pies (when available), and cream pies. The order blank will be available in our newsletter or on this web site in the month prior to the sale.

Entertainment Books: For many years we have offered the Entertainment books. They are filled with coupons for discounts on everything from fine dining, fast food, sporting events, services, travel, and a host of others. The books are available at The Tenth Life or can be mailed to you for a small postage fee. There are retailers in this area who have the books available with the proceeds from the sale going to The Tenth Life. Please call us at (937) 376-5550 to get the location of the participating retailer nearest you. These books can save you hundreds (even thousands) of dollars with their money saving coupons.

Spaghetti Dinner: Each year we attempt to have a Spaghetti Dinner and Auction. The dinner consists of a plate of spaghetti (with or without meat balls), salad, and breadsticks. Also available are coffee, water, or soft drinks and a selection of desserts. In addition to the dinner, we have a silent auction of items that range from gift certificates to area restaurants to collectibles (usually cat related). There is also a live auction to add to the enjoyment. In past years we have had such things as airline tickets to anywhere in the United States, Hummel figurines, cat furniture, and Dayton Dragon gif packages. The event is always a great fund raiser and is enjoyed by everyone who attends. The cost is nominal for the dinner and most of the auction items turn out to be bargains for all who bid on them. Give attending some thought. Contact us at (937) 376-5550 for location, date, and time.

Original Design Christmas Card: For over 20 years, we have offered a holiday greeting card which has been specifically designed for The Tenth Life. We have had several different artists design the cards and we make them available in packages of ten cards and envelopes for $5 or $6 per package depending on the printing cost. The 2009 card is multicolored and is selling for $6 because of the increased cost to print it. The cards are available at The Tenth Life or can be sent to your home for a nominal postage fee.

The Tenth Life Apparel: We have tee shirts and sweat shirts available that have The Tenth Life logo embroidered on them. The sweat shirts come in navy, bright red, brown, gold, and forest green and sell for $25. The logo is across the entire chest. The tee shirts are available in long and short sleeve. They all have the logo on the upper left chest area of the shirt. The short sleeve shirts sell for $15 and come in stonewashed blue, green, brown, cardinal, pale blue, natural, heather blue and green, pine, gray, red, navy, and forest green. The long sleeve shirts sell for $20 and are available in stonewashed blue and green, natural, and bright red. They truly are attractive shirts. We also have The Tenth Life totes available. They are gray with black trim and The Tenth Life logo in black. These totes sell for $25. As with other fund raising efforts, you may purchase these shirts or totes at The Tenth Life or we can mail them to you for an additional postage fee.

Craft Items: We have been involved in five craft shows each year for many years. The current list is: Street Fair in Yellow Springs, Ohio (June and October), Popcorn Festival in Beavercreek, Ohio (September), and twoshows at The Tenth Life. The first Tenth Life show is the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the second the Saturday before Christmas. The December show is always combined with a bake sale and pie sale. All of theseshows feature The Tenth Life apparel, catnip toys, and cat related craft items.

Christmas Greenery: We have been selling Christmas greenery and plants for several years to help save people the time and effort of searching for their own source of these items. We have affiliated ourselves with a wholesaler in Cincinnati to supply us with wreaths and roping. We use Furst Florist and Greenhouses as a supplier of Christmas plants. The wreaths are either noble fir or mixed western which come in 16” and 28” sizes. Other sizes up to 72” are available upon special request. The noble fir is a short-needle wreath, and the mixed western is both long and short-needle and has pine cones. Both types of wreathes are accented with a red velvet bow supplied by Unique Designs Floral Studio in Centerville. The roping is white pine and is sold by the foot.

The Christmas plants are: Norfolk pines, Christmas cactus, and cyclamen; all are in small pots with colorful Mylar wrapping. The cactus and cyclamen are also available in hanging baskets. If you wish to purchase anyof the Christmas greenery, the order blank is in our newsletter or through this web site in the October prior to the sale.

The Tenth Life Cookbook: The cookbook, which has a hardback cover, is loaded with three hundred and fifty delicious recipes and sells for only $12. All the recipes have been contributed by supporters of The Tenth Lif and are usually family recipes which have been handed down for many generations. They are available at The Tenth Life or by mail for an extra three dollars for postage. They make a wonderful gift for anyone wholoves cookbooks. For many people, this type of cookbook is their favorite.

Kroger Gift Cards: We sell gift cards for Kroger grocery stores. We typically keep both $50 and $100 cards available but can get you cards in whatever denomination you would like for yourself or to give as gifts. The way the program works is that you purchase the card(s) from The Tenth Life and use them just as you would use a credit or debit card for your purchases at Kroger. When the available balance on the card is getting low, you may reload the card with cash, credit card, check, or debit card at any Kroger store. Please make sure you reload your card before you start shopping since it takes several minutes for the computer to recognize the recently added dollars. For all card purchases and subsequent reloads, The Tenth Life receives 4%. The program is so successful that we receive a nice check from Kroger each month!

Pictures with Santa: Each year we participate in “Pictures with Santa” through Complete Petmart. We have a Santa and a photographer at the Complete Petmarts in Oakwood, Beavercreek, Springboro, and Cross Pointe in Centerville during December. Bring your pet to any of these stores and have a picture taken of your pet with Santa. The requested donation for each picture is $10. Please see our calendar for the correct dates at each location.

Grocery Shop at Dorothy Lane Market: For several years, we have been registered with Dorothy Lane Market in their Community Rewards Program. Through this program, a percentage of all your purchases are given to TheTenth Life. You must register at the store each year and purchase a minimum of $200 in that year in order for your purchases to qualify.

Sponsor a Cat: We have a sponsorship program entitled “Create-a-Purr.” To participate in this program, you can either come to The Tenth Life and select a cat or have us select a cat for you (based on your chosen criteria – i.e., age, color, gender, length of hair, etc.). Sponsorship is $10 per month, which you may pay monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually, whichever you prefer. With this program you will receive a picture and initial write-up about your chosen sponsor cat, and you will then receive semi-annual updates about your kitty as long as your sponsorship continues. If your sponsor cat is adopted, we'll inform you of the adoption and give you the opportunity to transfer your sponsorship to another cat.

Adopt a Cat: One of the best ways to support The Tenth Life is to adopt one or more of our cats. (see the Adoptions page)

Care About Cats: By being the most responsible pet owner you can, it will help The Tenth Life. We can think of nothing better than every cat being spayed or neutered, given lots of love, being provided with high quality/nutritious food, and being provided with proper veterinary attention as needed. By doing these things, you reduce the burden to The Tenth Life and all other shelter operations by reducing the number of stray/unwanted cats. If you need suggestions on where to get the best veterinary care for your cat(s), we can give you recommendations of Veterinarians in your area. Should you need low-cost spay or neuter program information, we can provide that as well. When you become aware of a situation where cats are going unneutered or not receiving proper veterinary care, take the initiative to inform the cat owner of alternatives whichare available such as low cost spaying or neutering. By getting the animals neutered at a low cost, these people may be able to better afford the other veterinary care the cats need. If you know of an unneuteredstray, please consider either having the neuter done yourself through a low-cost program or work with friends, co-workers, family, or neighbors to pool resources to accomplish the neutering.

Perpetual Care for Your Cats: One last grand gesture you can make is to ensure your cat(s) are going to be taken care of even after you are gone is to have your attorney set up a provision in your will to have your cat(s) come to The Tenth Life. If your desire is to have us find another loving home for your cat(s), we can do that (as long as space permits us to accept them). If you just want your feline companion(s) to be provided with perpetual care, we can accommodate that as well. The only thing we ask is that you provide some financial support for the cat(s) once they are at The Tenth Life. Again, your attorney will know how to set up the provisions of your will so that kitty will be well cared for.

We are always open to new/different ways to raise interest and funds for The Tenth Life. If you have an idea for a legal way to raise both funds and interest in this organization, please contact us at (937) 376-5550.Your input will be appreciated!