HUHANZ HUHA need our support. 400 animals and an all volunteer workforce it’s craziness! Please read this post from them and consider how you can help. #newzealand #aotearoa #nokillshelter #helpingyouhelpanimals #huhanz ^T ... See more
THERE ARE SOME CHANGES NEEDED AT HUHA..and we'd like your blessing!
We have been working hard for 18years now, saving thousands of lives, growing and growing.....and growing some more!
To be honest we wish the New Zealand communities did not need us so desperately - but everyday the calls come in, asking for our help.
What we are seeing in NZ is an epidemic of animal suffering. From dogs chained in backyards and litters of feral kittens diseased and unwanted to disposable farm animals in a desperate state and injured wildlife needing care.
The sad fact is that our job is just getting busier.
Currently we run three shelters, Otaki holding up to 60 dogs, Kaitoke a safe haven for wonky farm animals, ex zoo and circus monkeys and rehabbing native wildlife, and Te horo our horse rescue sanctuary. We also have the Otaki Opp Shop (that raises enough every month to pay our Otaki Shelter rent) and our Stokes Valley Vet Clinic that services not only HUHA animals but the wider community as well.
We have bought 157 acres of land in the Hutt Valley and have started to build a new centre, purposed to help and heal all animals in need. It will be a hub of goodness that NZ can be proud of.
Aside from the Vet Clinic that is run as a business. For the past 18years noone at HUHA has ever been paid. But we need to ask for that to change. HUHA has been a voluntary organisation because it has been our mission to to help as we are able, because we are passionate and we choose to. But we have had to come to terms with the fact that we are not just a nice helpful group anymore, though demand we have become a fully fledged community service. And we are drowning in the share volume of requests (thousands every month) and all the responsibility that comes with that.
You all know us well enough to know that we meet every challenge head on with the full force of our problem solving skills. This transition is no different.
So what we would like to ask you is - would anyone be opposed to us hiring 4-5 staff members. Its our dog shelter that requires the most. The work is hard and it's 12 hrs a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and a mighty commitment for volunteers only. Our volunteers are amazing, but we need more structure and certainty, and we think that will come with the responsibility of an employment contract. We can see putting a paid manager and two - three part time shift leaders in place to care for the 50-60 dogs is going to be a game changer for us, for the community and for the dogs.
We see complaints filtering through, that we are hard to get hold of sometimes. We also see a lack of magic on this page lately - sometimes we are so overwhelmed just caring for these animals (we have 400 currently in our care overall) that we just run out of puff...we need help and we think hiring might just be the ticket.
The original team of HUHA Volunteers are a brilliant bunch. Together we have grown HUHA to be such a valued service and to be honest its in our blood, so moving forward we promise we won't miss a beat we will continue to do exactly what we are doing now. But we want HUHA to be sustainable, NZ needs it to be strong and robust, HUHA needs a secure future.
So we plan to carefully hire our next generation, we think this will secure HUHA's future capabilities. We also plan to put a fundraiser/Grant writer in place, so no donations will be taken away from the animals - as always, everything goes to their care, heath and healing. (Did you know that over the past 18years we have only received one $5k grant!! Its crazy...but we just haven't had the time to sit still and apply!!)
Its important for you all to know that the Volunteering wont stop, its our lifeblood! HUHA will continue to be a voluntary lead organisation, we will still have dozens of passionate and committed folk pitching in, we are just seeking to put a few key team members in place for those too important to not to have jobs. So we are 100% available for both the animals and the public.
We hope this all makes good sense....we value your input every step of the way!
Thank you HUHA Community - together we are saving lives xx
(Pic This little man was signed over to us yesterday...and promptly set about helping with the baby goat area upgrade!!)
Www.huha.org.nz/donate xx ... See more
