21.08.08
It's been a very busy time behind the scenes at T.R.E.W of late. We have just held our A.G.M, and with that, have been settling some T.R.E.W members into their new Office Bearing roles within the Committee, and also into some newly created Committee roles. A big thank you to these people, who have made the commitment of their time and expertise to T.R.E.W, and who are already doing a sterling job. It had become very apparent that the administrative side of the Association needed far more hands on deck to spread the load. Many very necessary aspects of the running of T.R.E.W were being severely neglected.
As of the A.G.M, we now have two newly created Committee roles; Fundraising Manager - Tanya Meldrum, and Publicity Secretary - Lindy Cuthbertson. Tanya has been a member and supporter of T.R.E.W for some time, and did a wonderful job stepping into the breech for a period as Acting President, for which we are very grateful. Unfortunately Tanya found that her commitments did just not allow her the time needed to fulfill this role, but she has very kindly offered to take up the Fundraising portfolio, which has been more or less non existent until this point. Tanya has also been a terrific help in decifering the red tape and legalities involved in finalising our DGR status and forming a new Committee structure. BIG thanks to you Tan!
We welcome and thank our new General Secretary - Eloise O'Doherty, a long term valued member and supporter of T.R.E.W, who is incredibly organised and doing wonderful things already. El is also handling the Horse Sponsorship duties, along with our new Membership area.
Welcome back to our amazing Treasurer Deirdre Oswald, who single handedly handles any financial aspects of the Association very efficiently, and in doing so, takes a huge load off the rest of theCommittee. Co-founder of T.R.E.W, Jaimee Henderson, has kindly agreed to take on the role of Vice President yet again.
I find myself in the President's role again, which is really a role I was keen to hand over for various reasons, but I am certain that with the great support we now have from our new Committee Members many of our projects will come to fruition, and with a great mentality within the Committee of shared responsibility and the support of one another in our various tasks, that we will achieve much....which is what it's all about.
As mentioned, T.R.E.W is now an endorsed Animal Welfare Charity with DGR Status, meaning that any donations made to T.R.E.W over $2 are now tax deductible.
Also mentioned, T.R.E.W is now opening up for Memberships, all details can be viewed on the newMembership page.
Regular visitors would know that Cinders, our latest horse re homed, has settled into her new home and family very well. There are some lovely shots from her new owner on Cinders page of her looking very much at peace with life. It is often overlooked I think just how important the homes offered to the rehabilitated horses are. Without these offers, T.R.E.W would be unable to accept horses for care. It is not easy to find these homes, as often the horses needing them are those who are classed as having 'no value' in any sense by the general horse community, but there are those amongst the community who believe, as we do at T.R.E.W, that every horse's life matters, and that the value of that life cannot be measured or compared. We do only accept critical horses here at T.R.E.W, and this generally means that these horses are those who have been spurned by anyone likely to take on a horse as having any potential future value. This does not mean that they have always fallen into this 'bracket', and in fact many of them are horses who have been highly prized, profitable, and valued in their past. All the more reason to make an effort to provide them with a secure, happy, and healthy future, and all the more difficult to find them those special homes. We are forever grateful to those who now care for our past rehabilitated horses, because it is they who take responsibility for them in the long term. You are all to be commended and should all be very proud of yourselves. You do a selfless and humane thing.
Regular visitors would know that for a brief time T.R.E.W made the difficult decision to cease accepting horse's into care. This decision was based upon the then lack of infrastructure within the Association needed to find a way to raise funds to support the care and treatment of horses we took in. Based upon the many recent positive developments within T.R.E.W we hope that we will soon be in a financial position secure enough to take on horse's once again. If you believe in T.R.E.W's philosophy, and appreciate the work in any way, please don't think that there is 'someone else' who is taking care of the harsh reality that this work is very costly. It is actually you, and others like you who make it possible. The Committee and volunteers of T.R.E.W are only conduits of any funds that are contributed to the cause. They perform the duties, tasks, and hands on work required to make it happen, but do it on behalf of supporters, and for the horses. We hope that anyone who has contributed in the past understands this, and feels proud that they have been instrumental in some wonderful results for some wonderful horses.
Our only horse in care at present, Roycene, is doing very well. She has a beautiful soft nature for a mare who has been virtually untouched for 20 years, and it has been a very interesting experience in teaching her all those lessons you would normally teach a bub. She is a good learner, very receptive and open to it, and I have no doubt that she is going to make someone a wonderful best friend in time. She is becoming less and less apprehensive of us humans by the day. Roycene does only have one sponsor, and further sponsors for her would be much appreciated. If you would like to learn more about our sponsorship arrangements, you can do so here. For as little as $5 a week you can be a support in Roycene's recovery, rehabilitation, and ultimate new future.
I have manyphotos to be put up on various horse's pages, along with continuing to transfer their profiles from the old site to the new. This is just one of those jobs I have to chip away at when I have time.
The T.R.E.W Forum has become a lovely place to be, and if you like a horsey chat, you really should consider becoming a member. I think we have cornered the market on good people with our forum! Most of the T.R.E.W news is posted on the forum, and some good friendships have been formed. If you are struggling with a horse, are looking for some support, are interested in discussing the welfare issue, have a horse needing re homing, or would simply like to join some like minded horse lovers in a friendly environment, you can register and take a look around here.
Anyhow, apologies for the epic that this update has become. Much to say, but I will leave it at that for today. Congratulations and thank you if you made it this far!
Kind regards from Rebecca and the T.R.E.W Committee.
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