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(photo credit Mark Makela: "Kids Reading to Cats")
The Cat Nap Lodge Community Center will provide a variety of programs including catteries with adoptable cats, a kitten nursery, mobile vet clinics, TNR Support, educational workshops, therapy cat sessions, community events as well as children and family programs such as; preschool story time, after school program, reading time with cats, exercise classes, teen game/movie nights and more!
The center will be licensed by Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Child Care Licensing Division to provide after school care for children in grades K-6 AND will be licensed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture as a cat shelter for homeless cats and kittens.
This unique facility will provide the children enrolled in the after-school program with the opportunity to improve their reading skills while reading to cats AND in doing so, improve the cats social skills making them more likely to get adopted!
Please consider donating to the Cat Nap Lodge Community Center and be part of this unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children and help us provide for the most vulnerable of homeless cats and kittens in our community!
Recent studies performed by research teams at U.C. Davis and Tufts University reveal children who read aloud to shelter cats on a regular basis demonstrate drastic improvement in their reading skills! Animals provide a safe, non-judgmental presence for struggling readers. Sharing books with furry supporters helps children to:
· Sustain concentration and focus
· Maintain a higher level of awareness
· Improve attitudes toward school
· Increase reading comprehension and fluency
· Expand their use of vocabulary and language
· Boost confidence and pride in their reading skills
· Cultivate a higher motivation for reading and learning
· Foster positive social interactions
· Feel more comfortable about learning
· Enjoy the experience of reading
The benefits of reading to cats isn't just for the children. The cats are also helped from the attention they receive. It gives children a sense of purpose when they sense the cats are benefiting from their kindness and attention through the act of reading. The attention the cats receive from the children help them learn to trust and appreciate human companionship, thus improving the cats chances for adoption.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Cat Nap Lodge has served our community cats for over six years finding homes for an average of 60 a year equaling hundreds of cats and kittens and it's just not enough! With your help we can do more!
· In Kalamazoo in 2018 over 1300 cats and kittens ended up in the county shelter
· Close to 30% of those were euthanized.
· With our new facility we will increase our capacity to an estimated 60 cats/kittens at one time AND with the benefit of a public facility we will have the potential to triple our adoptions, allowing us to provide for up to 180 cats/kittens in a year!
Yet still, there is so much more to do!
Our children need help too!
· In 2018 the children in the 3rd grade in twelve of the elementary schools in Kalamazoo Public School District scored %50 or less proficient in English Language Arts on the M-STEP test.
· Close to 50 elementary grade children in Kalamazoo Public Schools were retained a grade in 2018.
· With our facility we will make the difference in the educational success of 15-30 children each year!
The money you donate today will go towards creating a facility that will serve our community in a variety of ways! It will be a licensed animal shelter providing medical care and housing for adoptable cats and kittens. It will include a licensed child care center providing educational and social services for our local school children and their families, as well as a large open area for community events!
Our programs will include:
· Intake, quarantine, and healthcare for homeless cats and kittens
· A cattery to house homeless cats and kittens
· Adult Cat and Kitten adoptions
· Kitten Nursery
· Affordable Mobile Vet Clinics
· TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) Support
· Educational Workshops
· Therapy Cat sessions for individuals
· Community Events
· Children’s Programs
· After School Care
· Reading Programs
· Exercise Classes
· Game and Movie Nights
· And so much more…….
With your help this dream can become a reality!
Please consider donating today!
Together we save lives!
Joni Kelley
Cat Nap Lodge
Executive Director
The Cat Nap Lodge Community Center will provide a variety of programs including catteries with adoptable cats, a kitten nursery, mobile vet clinics, TNR Support, educational workshops, therapy cat sessions, community events as well as children and family programs such as; preschool story time, after school program, reading time with cats, exercise classes, teen game/movie nights and more!
The center will be licensed by Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Child Care Licensing Division to provide after school care for children in grades K-6 AND will be licensed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture as a cat shelter for homeless cats and kittens.
This unique facility will provide the children enrolled in the after-school program with the opportunity to improve their reading skills while reading to cats AND in doing so, improve the cats social skills making them more likely to get adopted!
Please consider donating to the Cat Nap Lodge Community Center and be part of this unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children and help us provide for the most vulnerable of homeless cats and kittens in our community!
Recent studies performed by research teams at U.C. Davis and Tufts University reveal children who read aloud to shelter cats on a regular basis demonstrate drastic improvement in their reading skills! Animals provide a safe, non-judgmental presence for struggling readers. Sharing books with furry supporters helps children to:
· Sustain concentration and focus
· Maintain a higher level of awareness
· Improve attitudes toward school
· Increase reading comprehension and fluency
· Expand their use of vocabulary and language
· Boost confidence and pride in their reading skills
· Cultivate a higher motivation for reading and learning
· Foster positive social interactions
· Feel more comfortable about learning
· Enjoy the experience of reading
The benefits of reading to cats isn't just for the children. The cats are also helped from the attention they receive. It gives children a sense of purpose when they sense the cats are benefiting from their kindness and attention through the act of reading. The attention the cats receive from the children help them learn to trust and appreciate human companionship, thus improving the cats chances for adoption.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Cat Nap Lodge has served our community cats for over six years finding homes for an average of 60 a year equaling hundreds of cats and kittens and it's just not enough! With your help we can do more!
· In Kalamazoo in 2018 over 1300 cats and kittens ended up in the county shelter
· Close to 30% of those were euthanized.
· With our new facility we will increase our capacity to an estimated 60 cats/kittens at one time AND with the benefit of a public facility we will have the potential to triple our adoptions, allowing us to provide for up to 180 cats/kittens in a year!
Yet still, there is so much more to do!
Our children need help too!
· In 2018 the children in the 3rd grade in twelve of the elementary schools in Kalamazoo Public School District scored %50 or less proficient in English Language Arts on the M-STEP test.
· Close to 50 elementary grade children in Kalamazoo Public Schools were retained a grade in 2018.
· With our facility we will make the difference in the educational success of 15-30 children each year!
The money you donate today will go towards creating a facility that will serve our community in a variety of ways! It will be a licensed animal shelter providing medical care and housing for adoptable cats and kittens. It will include a licensed child care center providing educational and social services for our local school children and their families, as well as a large open area for community events!
Our programs will include:
· Intake, quarantine, and healthcare for homeless cats and kittens
· A cattery to house homeless cats and kittens
· Adult Cat and Kitten adoptions
· Kitten Nursery
· Affordable Mobile Vet Clinics
· TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) Support
· Educational Workshops
· Therapy Cat sessions for individuals
· Community Events
· Children’s Programs
· After School Care
· Reading Programs
· Exercise Classes
· Game and Movie Nights
· And so much more…….
With your help this dream can become a reality!
Please consider donating today!
Together we save lives!
Joni Kelley
Cat Nap Lodge
Executive Director
Organizer
C
Cat Nap Lodge
Beneficiary