Open letter from Jacki Hadra – Founder of IMOM.org (sorry icon is so large!)

[Catty1]

Open letter from Jacki Hadra – Founder of IMOM.org


September 4, 2014

Please accept this letter as an official announcement of the temporary closure of IMOM. This is by no means the end of our work. We need to take some time to re-organize and begin phase two of IMOM.
Monthly donations

All monthly donations have been suspended EXCEPT those donations that are used for our sponsor pets. There will be no changes that involve those pets and we appreciate your continued support.
Some donations I am unable to suspend will have to be suspended by the individual donor. Those are as follow:
1. Monthly donations sent in the mail for use in the General Fund.
2. Monthly donations to the General Fund set up through PayPal.
I am hopeful that when we re-open you will allow me to begin your recurring donations once again.
If anyone wants to continue their monthly donations during this transition period please let me know as we still have operating expenses. You may send an email to [email protected] concerning any questions about your monthly/recurring donations.
Why re-organize?

Very simply stated – we do not have sufficient volunteer staff. When we have tried to recruit new people no one comes forward. Those of us who are still here are exhausted and could have chosen to dissolve the corporation and walk away. Instead of walking away I decided to lead IMOM in a different direction and help animals in different way. Those volunteers who are presently with IMOM have decided to stay on and continue to phase two of IMOM.
Where will our future take us?

Our volunteers have already begun collaboration on some of the ideas we have been discussing. We have to base our work on the number of volunteers we have available. We are leaning very much towards a spay/neuter program and working more closely to help our animal friends in rescue.
Stay in touch

Please continue to follow us on FaceBook and visit our community.
Another organization like IMOM?

If anyone is interested in starting an organization like IMOM I am more than happy to work with you to help you get started.
You may send me an email and include your phone number and time zone. Send your email to [email protected]. Please only write if you are serious and dedicated enough to see it through. I won’t tell you it’s easy because it is far from that.
Thank you!

IMOM would not have had 16 successful years if not for our volunteers and those who have steadfastly supported our work.
I feel very fortunate that IMOM had the opportunity to help 4952 pets over these past 16 years. And this was just phase one of IMOM. I can’t wait to introduce you all to phase two.
For the animals,
Jacki and Magic

[kuhio98]

Thanks for posting this Candace. I was about to do the same.

I'm excited to find out what IMOM will do next, but also concerned about what those changes may mean for pets facing emergency medical treatment.

If anyone has time to volunteer, please contact IMOM. As far as I know, they are only working with vets in the US for now. I hope to volunteer with them when I retire one of these days.

[phesina]

Where are they located, and what kind of volunteer help do they need?

[kuhio98]

I believe IMOM's office is in New Jersey, but all volunteers work from their own home.

Here's the link to volunteer opportunities info http://www.imom.org/volunteer.htm

Time commitment

As an IMOM volunteer you must be available to check email on a daily basis (Monday through Friday) and be able to devote a minimum of one full day each week.

Basic qualifications:

• All IMOM volunteers must possess a strong desire to help companion animals and their caretakers
  
• All of the work we do at IMOM is accomplished on the internet so you'll need to be pretty internet savvy and very proficient in using a computer.
  
• You must have a basic knowledge of how our financial aid program works. You can learn by reading the information on our site as if you were going to apply for financial aid.
  
• Applicant must be able to compose an email using proper grammar and punctuation.
  
• Applicant must be familiar with gmail or willing to learn.

[phesina]

Thanks, Lisa. That's very good.

[kuhio98]

Pat -- and anyone who is considering volunteering -- IMOM posted this today. Jacki's e-mail address is included if you want to communicate directly with her.

At this time I am still working on the new site and we are discussing our new programs and procedures. I am trying very hard to create programs that will not require as much volunteer time as in our previous service.

Ultimately - we will be able to use vols. who only have a small amount of time to give. That time can be used in almost any way you like. From making phones to calls to vet to sending vouchers to approved applicants.

I would like to suggest that the sooner you want to begin the easier it will be to learn as we will all be learning together. At this point it might only take an hour or two a week to come while it is all be set up. If you would like to talk more about it please send me an email with your phone number. [email protected]