Helping the Little Ones(May 2020) We were thrilled to be able to support the Prince William County Animal Shelter’s foster program with a donation of Foster Kitten Kits! These kits will go a long way in helping newborn kittens under the care of their Foster Program. We supplied scales, nipples, formula, mother/kitten food, thermometers, and warming pads. As the season goes on, we will replenish the supplies as needed.
Special thanks to our friends at Pirates of the Potomac for their $5,000 donation that supports this program.
Have you ever thought about becoming a foster at the Prince William County Animal Shelter? Click Here https://bit.ly/38LK6AB for more information on their Foster Program!
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Teachers register now for Fall 2020(May 2020) Registration for Kind News now open! This publication is free of charge for all Prince William County, Manassas City and Manassas Park teachers in K-6 grade classes. Deadline to register is June 14, 2020. All teachers must renew their subscription each year. No automatic renewals. Register here
**COVID-19 Message**: Teachers who received Kind News during the 19-20 school year received their last issue via email. The last printed copy for this school year will be delayed until next fall. If you would like to continue to receive this publication, please sign up on the registration page link above.
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Keeping Pets with their Families(April 2020) No family should have to give up a pet because they cannot afford food. Prince William SPCA is helping fight pet food insecurity by providing assistance throughout the community. If you are unable to feed your pets, please use these resources listed below. Contact us if you are unable to obtain food through these services.
3 Little Free Libraries Have Pet Food
Pet food assistance now available at 3 Little Free Libraries! No pet should go hungry, or be surrendered or abandoned because of a lack of food. Times are tough for families and we’re here to help! Starting today, the Prince William SPCA will have canned dog and cat food available at the following little libraries while supplies last. Donations at the libraries are also welcomed but must fit inside of the libraries. All food must be canned and absolutely NO used or open items of any kind are permitted. Locations of libraries with pet food:
🐾 Manassas City Animal Adoption Center (Dean Drive)
🐾 Prince William County Animal Shelter (Bristow Road)
🐾 Lake Ridge Elementary School (Hedges Run Drive)
Meals on Wheels
Our volunteers are supplying Meals on Wheels with packages of cat and dog food for people who cannot leave their homes.
ACTS – Food pantry 9am-3pm Monday – Friday
Pet food is being donated regularly to the ACTS food pantry. Pantry Information
SERVE
Food assistance is provided by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, please call 571.748.2680 and please leave a message if no one is immediately available to take your call. SERVE Campus 10056 Dean Dr., Manassas, VA 20110. Available Appointment Hours:
Monday: 1 – 3 p.m. – Tuesday: 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. / 1 – 3 p.m. – Wednesday: 5 – 7:30 p.m. – Thursday: 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. / 1 – 3 p.m. – Friday: 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
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(April 2020) This special solicitation provides an opportunity for Federal employees, members of the military, postal workers and retirees to create a new gift or an extra gift to support their favorite CFC-participating charities online or through the CFC mobile giving app. (The list is limited to the charities accepted by the CFC in 2019).
– One hundred percent (100%) of the gifts made in this campaign will go to charities (without a distribution fee).
– Funds pledged will be paid out to charities by the 15th day of the month following receipt of the pledge by the CFC Central Campaign Administrator
– Any employee who did not pledge via payroll deduction in fall 2019 can make a payroll-funded gift through the CFC.
– Existing donors who pledged by payroll allotments in the fall of 2019 can make additional donations with electronic credit, debit, or ACH gift on the CFC giving platform or the mobile app.
This special CFC solicitation using the CFC online donation portal until June 30, 2020. Prince William SPCA’s CFC number is #66973.
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Thank You Pirates of the Potomac!(February 22, 2020) Huge THANK YOU to our friends at Pirates of the Potomac! They presented the Prince William SPCA with a $5,000 check from the proceeds of their MidWinter Meltdown event this January. Their support helps us meet our fundraising goal to provide 40 foster care packages for the Prince William County Animal Shelter. The donation comes just in time for kitten season. Special thanks to the shelter’s foster coordinator, Nancy Tarr, and Bear for joining us in the photo.
If you are interested in helping the shelter’s foster program or would like to become a foster family, please contact the shelter at animalshelter@pwcgov.org. Fostering helps alleviate overcrowding at the shelter and will help bridge the gap between now and when the new shelter is built.
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Delays, cost-saving cuts to new animal shelter spark concernsPrince William Times Article
“Unacceptable” is the word Supervisor Victor Angry used to describe the Prince William County Animal Shelter after touring the facility Friday. But Angry was quick to praise the shelter staff for doing the best they could in a cramped building that’s 44 years old and clearly in need of a major upgrade.
“We can talk about it all day, but when you see it, it makes it a reality,” said Angry, D-Neabsco, who was elected in April 2019 but had not previously visited the animal shelter. “It’s a very clean environment, but it’s very packed in there. It’s too tight for what they are doing.”
The animal shelter, built in 1975, has been slated for replacement since about 2015. That’s when the former board of supervisors began discussing a new shelter after allocating about $30,000 to upgrade the facility’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system after it was partly blamed for an outbreak of the highly contagious calicivirus, also known as FCV, that forced the shelter to euthanize 73 cats.
In 2017, the supervisors voted to spend $15.1 million to demolish the existing shelter, at 14807 Bristow Road near Independent Hill, and build a new one about four times its size on the same site.
At the time, a county audit of the animal shelter showed the shelter was taking in as many as 4,000 animals a year but euthanizing about 20 percent of them, sometimes due to overcrowding.
The design the supervisors approved for the new shelter, dubbed “option C,” is intended to address that problem by not only providing more space but also by following the Association of Shelter Veterinarians’ guidelines for standards of care in animal shelters.
Angry’s visit came about 10 days after the supervisors learned construction on the new shelter will be delayed until at least late 2021 because of higher-than-expected costs. The lowest bid came in about $13.2 million, which is $2.7 million more than the $10.5 million the county allotted for general construction.
Now, county staff is working with the lowest-bidding contractor to make cost-saving adjustments that are intended not to significantly alter the new animal shelter’s features, according to Tom Bruun, director of the county’s department of public works.
Changes include using a flat instead of sloped roof, omitting a barn for surrendered farm animals, installing a less costly HVAC system, paving less of the gravel parking lot, buying stormwater credits instead of building a retention pond, trimming allowances for cost overruns and switching out some of the interior finishes that were recommended by the animal shelter expert the county hired to consult on the new shelter, Bruun said.
As an example, Bruun said the shelter will use ceramic-faced concrete blocks for the dog kennel walls instead of glazed block, which is preferred because it is easier to clean and resists bacteria.
Regarding the shelter’s overall delay – it was initially hoped to be under construction in 2019 – Bruun said rising costs were a challenge at each stage of the design process.
“The biggest issue was managing the project to keep it within budget, as the cost of construction rose significantly in this area and nationwide,” Bruun said in an email Monday.
“At each point, costs exceeded the budget, and value engineering was performed to bring the project back in budget,” Bruun said. “…Some of these [value engineering] sessions were time-consuming and required the designer to redesign and tighten up the building.”
Bruun stressed the shelter will still meet ASV guidelines. But some supervisors and residents, alike, are raising concerns about the delays and the possible ramifications of all the cost-cutting.
Melissa Korzuch, president of the Prince William SPCA, says her group worries the new shelter will be too small and that the county won’t be able to afford key items that have been cut, including the barn and equipment for the veterinarian suite.
“The shelter we wanted to have built … is not the shelter we are getting. It’s been reduced dramatically and we are disappointed,” Korzuch said Monday. “Our worry is that the things you cut out, you may never be able to get funding for.”
Supervisor Jeanine Lawson and Supervisor Margaret Franklin joined Angry in expressing similar concerns this week. All said they are still talking with county staff to get a better understanding of the cuts.
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Call for Action!The construction for the new animal shelter has once again been delayed. Read article here. Due to the delays, costs have increased, and size and quality of the shelter is being decreased. Prince William SPCA is urging all citizens to call or email their Supervisors and ask why this project is taking so long. The community advocated for “Option C” and the Board approved funding for that option, but the specs for the shelter no longer support that option. The longer the county waits, the more will be cut from an already very “basic needs” shelter.
County taxpayers asked for, and the county funded, a modern, efficient facility in 2017. Where is that shelter and the accountability?
How we got here:
Please call or e-mail your county supervisor and voice your support for the immediate focus on this project.
Board e-mail: bocs@pwcgov.org
More on the timeline of the shelter advocacy campaign.
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Prince William SPCA will host holiday pet photos on Sunday, December 8, 2019, from 4:00pm-7:00pm at the Lake Ridge Nursery. We have moved the location this year due to the anticipated construction of the new Prince William County Animal Shelter.
This pet-friendly event is always popular and a way we give back to our very generous community who has supported us and the Prince William County Animal Shelter all year long.
The photos will be held indoors this year. One pet photo per family is complimentary (donations appreciated). $5.00 for each additional photo.
Check out the photo album from last year: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156087563245885&type=1&l=22424a1740
This #GivingTuesday, we’re fundraising to support our animals in YOUR community. Facebook and PayPal are matching a total of up to $7 million in donations on Facebook. Join us by creating a personal fundraiser and then share it with your friends on December 3. https://www.fb.com/fund/pwspca/.
Other ways to give:
Mail donations to: Prince William SPCA, PO Box 6631, Woodbridge, VA 22195
Prince William SPCA is participating in the 2019 CFCNCA Campaign: # 66973
If you are a federal worker or retiree, please support Prince William SPCA during this year’s CFC campaign. Donations we receive from CFC enable us to continue our programs that reduce euthanasia, increase adoptions and improve the lives of companion animals in our LOCAL community. Thank you in advance for your generous support!
For details on how you can make a donation, visit https://cfcnca.org.
Campaign runs through January 12, 2020.