DECEMBER 10, 2009 ISSUE
Amnesty for Animals Hosts 3rd Annual Wreath Fundraiser Saturday
Original Mast General Store to Host Event During Christmas in the Valle
Buy a wreath this Saturday at the Original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis and help local animals in need this winter.
Traditional Christmas wreaths signify eternity, with their circular design and life everlasting symbolized through the evergreen boughs and branches they are made from. Spiritually, a wreath symbolizes faith, for a circular path that holds no beginning and no end: God’s eternity and mercy during the Christmas season. These familiar icons of December are sold each year by Amnesty for Animals to benefit a local homeless animal hospice. This Saturday, December 12, a table will be set up selling the wreaths at the Original Mast General Store in Valle Crucis from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The wreaths are made from award-winning Fraser Fir trees at Mistletoe Meadow Christmas Tree Farm, the supplier of the 2007 White House Christmas Tree.
“We buy the wreaths wholesale and sell them to pay for much needed food, medicine and heat the animals need to see them through the winter,” said Helen Mang, a volunteer with Amnesty for Animals. “These are animals that are not put up for adoption, though they had ended up at local pounds or auctions. Most all of them graduate from hospice, or they may not have been ill, just had come from a certain dire situation; they then live out their lives at a private farm.”
A couple of animals Mang profiled are Hero and Wilbur.
“Hero is a boxer/pit bull mix who was on death row,” said Mang. “He had several strikes against him that denied adoption: He is big and black, the color of many rejected dogs and cats. Though he loves people, he could not be contained easily—he escaped from everything, and he had chronic mange and was emaciating. Wilbur is a ram. As a lamb of two weeks, his throat was almost completely torn out by a dog. He was as good as dead. Amnesty provided the resources, care and caretaker he needed to survive his ordeal. All of the animals are treated using acupuncture, moxabustion, homeopathics and other nontoxic means by a diplomat of Chinese veterinary medicine.”
The wreath fundraiser is sometimes the only money-raising event the organization holds each year and, of course, it does not pay for everything. People have the opportunity to donate anytime, but now is a period when needs are running high, according to Mang.
“The winters can be pretty rugged in the High Country, even if there is not much snow in any given year,” she explained. “Mud, wind and cold rain can take their toll on animals and those who care for them. The horses need more hay, dogs get meat and marrow bones, cats need cozy beds and sherpa fleece blankets, the birds require warm mash and the goats and Wilbur need lots of straw for their stalls.”
To further entice people to consider purchasing a wreath, Mang lists the special attributes these evergreen circles hold.
“They are beautiful, very fragrant, about 26 inches wide—the perfect size for a door or windows—and they will hold up through winter,” she said. “Some folks like to keep their wreaths up until the winter is over, to cheer up the home and to mark the end of the cold season. Also, a local farmer is supported by the sales. If you already have a wreath or do not wish to buy one, a donation can be made at the wreath-selling site Saturday, or can be sent by mail.”
The wreaths are available for $18 apiece.
Make tax-deductible checks payable to Amnesty for Animals, a nonprofit organization that is part of the Congressional District Program, and send them to: 207 Dale Adams Road, Sugar Grove, NC 28697.
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