It was with heartfelt sadness that we shared “a moment of quiet” to remember our “Honorary member” Roger Curr, who passed away on Monday 31st July. Roger was an active member of our club since February 1986, becoming an Honorary member this year, due to health reasons, which kept him from attending meetings in person. He was also a member of the Eric Hall Trust, and was very supportive of “making a difference” in our community via projects and mentoring, both in his Business and Rotary.
It was great to welcome Todd Mudie to our meeting this week. Todd is very active in our community with his business and supporting various charities, he is also a past member of our club, recounting his memories of working in our Hot Dog Van, posting on social media at events “mention my name and you’ll get free sauce on your Hot Dog & Chips” – it certainly worked, I remember the fun we had with that, even though the sauce was always free!!
After learning of the “Cinnamon Trust”, a UK based Charity for older people, the terminally ill and their pets, Todd was inspired to start a similar charity here in Timaru, hence “The Pet Connection People” charity was started 6 weeks ago.
Dedicated to supporting the elderly or terminally ill with the care of their beloved pets, whether it be pet exercising, vet transportation or assistance with administering vet issued medication, the mission is to offer care and assistance when its needed most.
Currently there are 18 x volunteers, 6 x volunteer connectors, 6 x pets and 3 x volunteer Vet Technicians, and a purpose-built van for taking pets to & from Vet appointments. The focus is on pet walking and companionship with all volunteers being robustly vetted.
What a great concept, a charity which Todd, with his Wife Shirley, hopes to grow across NZ. There was a lot of interest by those present and we wished him well.
We also congratulated Bev Slooten, in her absence, who has been elected Chairperson of our Charitable Trust, and Jenny Ensor, Chair of the Eric Hall Trust.
