Please
discuss with your tax advisor about donating appreciated property.
Deferred
Gifts
A
bequest in a living will or trust - MEHS can be named as beneficiary
in wills and living trusts. They may be stated as a percentage of
the estate, as the residual of the estate or for a specific dollar amount.
Retained
life estate - The donor transfers property to the organization, while
retaining the right to live there for his or her (or spouse's) life.
Retirement
accounts - A donor can name the organization as the beneficiary of his
or her retirement accounts.
Life
Insurance - A donor can name the organization as the beneficiary of
his or her life insurance policy.
Other
ways of giving are charitable lead trusts, charitable remainder unitrusts,
deferred gift annuity, and charitable gift annuity. Please speak to
your estate planning and tax professional to discuss the best option for
you and to determine how you can maximize your gift for income tax
purposes.
Volunteer
Opportunities
Whether
you can volunteer on a regular basis, or just occasionally, we need your
help. All you need to do to get started is to fill out a volunteer
application and attend a volunteer orientation (held the 1st Sunday of
every month). Call or stop by the shelter to get your application,
and make sure to RSVP for the orientation (space is limited). Here are some of the ways you can volunteer:
Animal
Care Support - These
volunteers help to care for the animals at the shelter. Animal
Care volunteers help walk dogs, socialize cats and may also assist shelter
personnel with bathing, grooming and cleaning. Happy, social animals
are easier to find homes for, so these volunteer positions are critical!
Anyone
18 years and older may volunteer, Children 12 to 17 years may
volunteer with a parent or guardian.
Adoption
Events - We
also need volunteers to help at off-site adoptions events. These
volunteers will help load and unload dogs and cats into the shelter van at
the event, walk dogs during the event, and talk to prospective adopters
about pet ownership. All adoption screening will be done by shelter
personnel.
Offsite
adoptions scheduled:
PetsMart
- O'Fallon, IL on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month.
Auxiliary
Membership - Our
MEHS Auxiliary is instrumental in planning the year's fundraising
events. If you are good at organizing events or love to plan
parties, this is the group for you! The Auxiliary meets on the
first Thursday of the month at the Edwardsville Public Library.
For more information about the Auxiliary, please contact Charity Laleman
at (618) 656-4405.
Special
Events - If
you can't commit to a monthly meeting, but would like to help with
individual events, please let us know. We have 2 Trivia Nights, an annual Gala, and our fall Wag N Walk, plus other
events. People are always needed to solicit sponsorships and auction
donations, help with publicity, prepare mailings, and write thank
you notes. If you would like to help with an event, please contact
us at volunteer@mehs.org.
Supplies Wish
List
MEHS is always in
need of the following supplies:
