Isolating and Donating

              Greetings All,

The last months have been very hard for the whole world.

I hope you and yours are well.  

Isolation may be a bore but physical interaction is a danger.

Be careful..

As you know the Spanky Project have been at the forefront of 

humane population control of cats and dogs in Havana, Cuba. 

With the onset of COVID 19 the pause button has been pushed.

We are still looking forward to the resumption of campañas in 

Havana and Trinidad to round out 2020. 

With this time of isolation you may find 

you have some new found savings. 

It's been 15 years since we have seen prices like this

It would be so very supportive for our work to have additional perpetual monthly donors.
Please consider if you are able to manage a monthly donation of $5 or $10 dollars.
Over a 12 months that would equate into 2 or 4 sterilizations. And the benefit is exponential having another two or four sterile cats/dogs in the community.

If you have been thinking about helping Cuba's animals and would like to become a $5 or $10 monthly sponsor, click here  and choose the "Donate Monthly" option.

In just a few minutes, you can make a difference supporting the Spanky Project

Make the donation that fits your needs.

Your scheduled monthly donations will help both you and Spanky Project plan ahead. 

If you would like to dedicate your donation,  an e-card can be sent to announce your gift.
Pay for your donation using your credit card or PayPal account.
You will receive an instant tax receipt.

Your tax receipts will also be store in your Canada Helps account for use come tax time. 

It’s great for donors like you:

Save time and protect your budget: Pick an affordable amount each month and it’s automatically donated on your behalf.

Stay in control: Create, modify, or even cancel a gift online, anytime.

Make tax time easier: Receive one tax receipt at the end of the year for all CanadaHelps donations.

Feel good: Once your donation is set, you can feel good knowing you’re making a difference every month.

And it’s even better for the Spanky Project:

Easier planning: Reliable monthly income makes it easier to plan ahead.

Better budgeting: We can easily budget for their most important programs.

Less costly: We can reduce administration costs related to payment processing and tax receipting

Increased Focus: We can worry more about the important work and less about fundraising.

Schedule a gift today and make an impact every month.

We Can't Stop Now...

Our goal for 2020 was and continues to be 1000 sterilizations.

February saw us perform 522 sterilizations in Havana.

That leaves us to complete another 478 to meet our goal of 1000.

Havana and Trinidad are planned for the next two campañas.

Right now, you are the best chance we have at making our September campaña happen! 

Please do your part to follow physical distancing measures and WASH your HANDS!

Wear a mask!

NOW is our time to stop the spread.. where ever you are.
We are confident our September and December campañas will

 be a go…

if we all take measure now to stop the spread of this virus.
... Cuba's animals still need your help!

¡Felices Fiestas!

There is a famous saying,

 “Let’s be realists and do the impossible” - Che Guevara

(Seamos realistas y hagamos lo imposible)

As this year draws to a close the Spanky Project has entered our 15th year of 

HELPING CUBANS HELP THEIR ANIMALS.

The Spanky Project is not one, two or ten people .. it is all of us.

It has been a long road and we thank each and every one of you who have been on this path with us.

Each day is a struggle. 

Our rewards come in the faces of the caregivers whose animals we have treated

and messages like the following.

-translated from spanish-

"Hello, I'm Cuban, through a friend who was part of the wonderful project in Trinidad Cuba I found out about Spanky Project, which it has touched my heart so strong and it has brought so many tears from my eyes.

I thought this could be impossible and by reading "let's be realistic and do the impossible" and see all the pictures and what they have done has inspired me so much.

Please let me know how I can help you and be part of you.

 God bless you all and my eternal gratitude for what you have done in my country with the animals. 

We need many people like you in this world."

As the year come to an end we have wonderful memories of all those precious creatures we have helped in so many ways.

Please join the Spanky Project, with your donation, so together we can help many more in 2019.

“Seamos realistas y hagamos lo imposible”

How Your Donation Is Put To Work ... and the bonus!

You may have asked....

"What do they do in Havana?"

 It all begins with a loving caregiver or a colony keeper.

One who brings their cat to our campaña for sterilization.

(We do dogs too!)

Then we get to work ...

REGISTRATION

CLINICAL EXAM

ANAESTHESIA /SEDATION

PRE-OPERATIVE PREPARATION

SURGERY

 RECOVERY

\

DISCHARGE WITH POST OPERATIVE INSTRUCTION

...and a consult with the surgeon.

That's what we do...

.. and we need you.

Your donation of $30 sponsors a spay.

And now the bonus.

That one spay over time can prevent over 20,000 births.

In February we sterilized 156 cats.

What a great return on a small investment.

$30 = 20,736

They also come to us by the box load.

$30 sponsors a spay...

 box loads vary!

Rearview Mirror - Great Canadian Giving Challenge

June's Great Canadian Giving Challenge is over.

We did not win the $10k prize.

But, with the 1425 chances you gave us we had a shot at it.

The good fortune went to

Truth For Teens

"The Mission of Truth for Teens

 is to equip indiviuals with the education and tools

 they need to heal from addiction, violence and destructive lifestyles."

Thank you to all our supporters.

Spring and summer months are a period of "donation doldrums" for charities

Visits to our blog post announcing the challenge saw a huge number of hits 

compared to others posted in June.

That shows you all cared and shared.

We had some great exposure on Trip Advisor thanks to one of our ongoing supporters.

The thread was closed by administrators near the end of June and I now see it has been removed.

Another thread was started to discuss the closure

our work and others working for the animals in Cuba.

Thanks to you all ...

There was a notable increase in donations this June.

11 of 30 days

 people took up the challenge

21 donors

one was so excited she donated twice.

5 countries

Canada 13

Australia 3

Great Britain 2

New Zealand 2

USA 1

$55.50

was the average donation

 if we remove the high/low and average the in-between.

Spanky Project USA received donations through their Facebook page.

Donations through that portal did not count in the challenge.

Tax receipts were issued to those who pay their due to the IRS.

So June is done... what now.

We still need your ongoing support to

help Cubans help their animals.

The Spanky Project has been focused in Havana.

Very soon we hope to be able to announce some exciting news regarding other regions of Cuba.

Online donations for Canadians and the world can be made at..

CanadaHelps.org

Cheques, money orders and donations in kind are happily accepted at

Spanky Project

172 Main St.

Suite 301

Picton ON  K0K 2T0

Canada

for our supporters in the USA 

you can donate with PayPal.

Spanky Project USA a

 501(c)(3) non profit organization.

Checks are accepted at..

Spanky Project USA

2823 Colorado St.

Long Beach, CA 90814

USA

Also for our USA supporters travelling to Cuba we have the 

Spanky Caja Program.

¡Gracias a todos!

... from all of us!

Calm After The Storm

The original plan was to arrive in Havana September 27 for our sterilization Campaña scheduled for October 2 -5.

With hurricane Irma hitting areas of Cuba hard it was decided to head down a week early.

We put out a call for support and you came through.

Pain control, antibiotic, anti-parasitics were the core of the supplies.

Also syringes, needles and shampoos.

Loaded with hurricane relief supplies purchased with a flash fundraiser we flew in a week early.

Upon arrival one of our bags was marked for secondary inspection.

All bags entering Cuba are scanned before reaching the baggage carousel.

"MX" alerts the inspector to look for medicines.

If you have an "AX" on your tag they are looking for food.

We were secure in the fact we would enter without issue.

None of our supplies were restricted or prohibited.

Also, the weight of our medications was under the 7kg limit for duty free entry.

Spanky Project is well known at Jose Marti Airport both with Customs and the Veterinarians so that made for a smooth exit.

Havana was eerily calm.

Yes it was low season but obviously many had canceled their visits.

 The Malecon, seaside drive, was closed.

 Dr. Zeynep Guleryuzlu dare not cross the line 

for fear of being whistled off by the military on guard.

 Irma's storm surge flooded blocks into the Vedado district and affected other areas.

 Vegetation in the Prado area was killed off.

Havana weathered the storm better than other areas of Cuba.

Our Havana team reported that our furry friends had fared well.

Sad to say the human side had their loses.

The third story of a already deteriorated building collapsed onto a bus killing three.

As the week progressed Havana regained it's vigor ..

 ... and life returned to normal.

Normal for us in Havana includes ...

... meetings.

The Sociedad Patrimonio, Comunidad y Medio Ambiente (SPCMA) is an NGO operating under the Oficina del Historiador.

They are the collaborating Cuban structure coordinating our activities.

Visas, import permits, permissions and activity locations are just a few administrative activities they manage.

A huge thank you to Martha Oneida Pérez Cortés - SPCMA President

Dr.Zeynep - Turkish veterinarian Team Spanky

 Martha - President SPCMA

Terry Shewchuk -Founding Director Spanky Project

Audrey Mabie - President Spanky Project USA

Going forward we are working on a program called the 

"Urban Animal Management Plan".

It's a pilot project being developed in Habana Vieja.

Also we are developing the 

Cuban Disaster -Veterinary Relief, Recovery and Support Program.

The future is bright for Cubans helping their animals.

We need your to help secure the future.

For Canadians a tax receipt will be issued for online donations at

CanadaHelps

and for cheques mailed to...

Spanky Project

172 Main St.

Suite 301

Picton ON  K0K 2T0

Canada

We ask that donations from around the globe use the above information.

EXCEPT for those in the USA. 

A tax receipt will be issued for online donations to

Spanky Project USA

or for checks mailed to

Spanky Project USA

2823 Colorado St

Long Beach, CA 90814

USA

GRACIAS