WHAT'S ON Updated 27th January 2010 We have split this section into smaller areas. Please use the links below to access your area of interest:   Newsletters Future Events Notices Past-Events 2008 Past Events 2009 Finance Report 2009   Current Newsletter - P.E.P.A. January, 2010 Newsletter A Happy New Year to you All! During December, P.E.P.A. had its first luncheon at the La Cueva restaurant in Oliva, and it was a great success.  As soon as our announcement was transmitted bookings poured in and we had to cut off further reservations.  At this Christmas luncheon our raffle raised 185 euros and, in addition, six calendars were sold, raising the total for P.E.P.A. to 215 euros.  This is the most money we have collected at any of our luncheons.  There was roast turkey as well as roasts of beef and pork to select from plus all the traditional holiday veggies.  We received many positive remarks on the food and service, so we are planning to schedule a Valentine’s lunch for Tuesday 9th February.  Further details later. The book sale in Barx/LaDrova also collected the largest amount of money we have ever taken.  Between the sale of books and calendars, plus a donation, a total of 201 euros was raised.   I want to thank Joy Potter, Angela and Geoff Cherry for their hard work each month which bring in much needed money for P.E.P.A.  The La Font bar in Barx is where these book sales are held and the bar has great sandwiches, pizzas and meals as well as the coffee and drinks.  You will find a large crowd attending and having an enjoyable afternoon, so if you possibly can, please plan on attending the next one. With this being the first Newsletter of the New Year, I want to remind all members or prospective members it is time to renew your P.E.P.A. subscriptions, or to join.  Members who joined during the last three months of 2009 are fully paid for this new year so can ignore contacting us.  Please go to our website to see how to electronically transfer funds.  The subscription rates are 12€ per year for one person, or 20€ for a couple.  Cheques may be mailed to the address in the footnote of this newsletter.  It is very important that we have your participation as members in order to give us credibility with the various Spanish governmental departments.   Also, the more residents we represent the more attention Ayuntamientos give us. Upcoming events for P.E.P.A. are: This Tuesday 12th Jan, P.E.P.A. monthly luncheon @ L’Irlandes rte. in Castello de Rugat, meet at 1:30pm for 1:45 sit down. Call 96 280 8332 for reservations. This Wednesday jhe 13th Jan there is a book sale in Barx at the La Font bar/rte in the main plaza from 2pm-4pm Every first Thursday of the month there is coffee, cake and book sale between 2pm-4pm.at the Urb San Cristobal near Alberic.  See the P.E.P.A. website; www.pepaspain.com  Every Wednesday from 10am –12pm cake and book sale at Pizzeria Celtica in Novetle plaza (near Xativa). Every Saturday from 10am-2pm rastro in Novetle plaza (near Xativa). Dates for the following events will be announced shortly: Wine Tasting and Car Treasure Hunt. NOTICE:  The P.E.P.A. Charity Shop is having a sale starting Tuesday, 12.01.2010.  Prices have been slashed so that we have a large turnover of goods.  Immediately after the Sale, Jan White and other volunteers will be restocking the shop with new goods.  Please stop by and take advantage of the huge bargains.  If you have goods you want to donate, please bring them with you.  If you are not familiar with the location of the shop in La Font d’en Carros you can find directions at our website; www.pepaspain.com  As always we need volunteers for the helpdesk, foster caring and events.   Is there anyone out there who would be able to organise a coffee morning, or, perhaps a spring marathon with dogs (marathons always seem to collect a lot of money!), or maybe, a fitness marathon on the beach with a barbecue!    And, you golfers out there!   How about competing for our P.E.P.A. cup?     Please call 96 280 8332, if you have some free time to donate and either Janet or myself will be very happy to discuss your ideas.    Joe Goodwin                                                                               President, P.E.P.A.   Click here for the Past Newsletters Archive

Future Events

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Notices

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We are asking you to give us just a few hours of your time - from 10.00a.m. until 5.00.p.m. just one morning a week to help find good homes for abandoned dogs. Because every day we are receiving more and more calls about abandoned, starving and often cruelly treated dogs, we need to expand our Homing Team.

Just a few hours of your time – for this very rewarding work – is all that we ask!

Another area where we need your help is for you to become a P.E.P.A. Foster Carer. To create a temporary, warm, loving haven of safety for some terrified dog who has been endeavouring to live off its wits for weeks in a never ending battle to survive, can be very rewarding.

Have you always had a pet in the past, or lost a favourite friend? Do you now hesitate about permanently having your own dog? Fostering an abandoned dog for a few weeks, could help fill this gap.

If you are able to help us, please call 650 304 746 (10.00a.m. - 5.00p.m.)

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Another way we desperately need YOUR HELP

Is in raising money! In this, we need all the help we can get to help us pay for our feral cat programme which is expanding all the time and to pay for our dogs whilst they are in foster care. To pay for their vaccinations, medications etc. etc. All these expenses are continuous and so we continually need to raise money!

Thoughts how you could help is by organising just one event, for example ....

Would you like to organise a coffee morning on behalf of P.E.P.A.?

Would you like to organise a market sale?

Would you like to organise a Fun Run (perhaps with dogs and/or fancy dress)?

Would you like to organise a car rally, or a lunch with a guest speaker?

Perhaps a line dancing or other type of competition?

Or how about a picnic, or a barbecue, or even a marathon?

These are just some of the ways in which you could help. If you don't want to do the actual organising can you help in other ways?

If you can, please telephone Janet on 96 280 8332.

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OUR CHARITY SHOP

P.E.P.A. opened a charity shop on 3rd September 2008 in La Font d'En Carrós near Gandia.

The shop sells good quality clothes, children’s toys, books, household items, bric-a-brac etc. at budget prices so please pop in, bag a bargain and support this worthwhile charity!

The shop is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings from 10am to 1pm, plus Friday evenings from 5 to 7pm.

P.E.P.A. would be very grateful for any donations of goods to help make the shop a success. This is your chance to clear out your cupboards and drawers!

We are also looking for volunteers to help in the shop. If you can spare a few hours a week, please ring Pat Taylor on 96 283 3325.

You can find the shop in Calle Cervantes, La Font d'En Carrós, number 26. Luckily there is adequate parking 50m down the road (4th road on the right) - click here for a map (opens in a separate window).

For further information telephone 96 283 3325 or 96 280 8332.

On 3rd September, the P.E.P.A. Charity Shop in La Font d'en Carros celebrated it's first birthday.

The shop has been a fantastic success and a big THANK YOU to everyone who has helped either by working in the shop, or by giving us donationsof clothes, bric-a-brac, books etc.

We need your continued support so we can make the next twelve months an even bigger success and therefore help even more animals

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OUR FERAL CAT PROGRAMME

We are looking to expand our feral cat programme and need your help!

Being a cat lover, you will know just how heartbreaking it is to have kittens dumped on your doorstep, or to find them tied in plastic bags having been callously thrown into a basura bin. Or finding them writhing in agony from a dose of poison. In this part of Spain, all along the eastern coast, it is almost a daily occurrence to find abandoned kittens, alive and dead, during the months of April/May and September/October. In other words, breeding time for the feral cat population!

By sterilizing both males and females we are able to save some of that terrible suffering.

To learn how to trap feral cats is neither difficult, nor time consuming. We will give you full instructions and supply you with the traps. All you will need is a bit of patience along with the satisfaction that you are really doing something to help. I assure you it can be very rewarding because you are allowing the adults to live quietly in their own environment. The females not being constantly attacked by randy males and the males themselves not having to prove their 'manhood' by fighting with other males. And helping to put an end to the suffering of all those kittens.

This non-lethal method of controlling the feral cat population is the recommended procedure by all leading countries who are concerned with animal welfare. It is a procedure known as TNR (Trapping, Neutering and Returning).

Please have a think about it and if you are interested,
please telephone 628 206 193.

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P.E.P.A. 2010 CHARITY CALENDARS

Click here for a preview

Only a few of these calendars left!

Available from the P.E.P.A. charity shop, rastros, the book sale
and Quiksave shops.

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Volunteers

We are hoping to increase our Help Team by recruiting volunteers to ‘staff’ a telephone for seven hours a week on a Sunday (from 10.00 until 5.00). By sharing the task between seven people means nobody is overburdened.

So, again, we appeal to your good nature – just 7 hours on a Sunday would mean so much to us and could be really rewarding for you knowing that you could be saving some poor creature! Please call 650 304 746 if you can help!

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Membership Subscriptions

All memberships are now due for renewal, with the exception of those members who joined in either November or December

Please see Sean Hall-Smith, at the next luncheon or mail to PEPA, Apartado de Correos 298, 46700, Gandia. The subscription price is €12 for the year.

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Past Events - 2008

S.P.A.M.A Dinner Dance

In November 2008, there was a dinner dance held by S.P.A.M.A. (Sociedad Protectora de Animales y Medio Ambiente).

This was a very successful evening, with everyone having a wonderful time, and raising money for the S.P.A.M.A. organisation into the bargain!

During the evening, the P.E.P.A. treasurer, Sean Hall-Smith, presented S.P.A.M.A. with a cheque for the tickets sold in the P.E.P.A. shop.

P.E.P.A. are proud to support S.P.A.M.A.!

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P.E.P.A.’S FIRST COFFEE MORNING

It is always a worry when you do something new and P.E.P.A.’s very first coffee morning in September 2008 was no exception!

Recently, Kathleen Huber, a member of P.E.P.A. offered to open up her home in Playa de Daimus for a Bring and Buy coffee morning. “I don’t suppose we will collect much money,” she said, “but every little helps!” She was definitely right with the last part of her sentence, but definitely wrong with the first!

There were fifteen of us who enjoyed the really delicious homemade cakes and coffee, all supplied by Kathleen and friends. Many of us brought along gifts for ‘Bring and Buy’, plus prizes for a raffle. It was really a fun morning, as you can see from the photos below; all enjoying a great get-together and gossip, as well as going home with some good bargains! This was made even more fun when we counted up and found we had collected 136€ which will all go towards helping the animals!

So a very big ‘Thank You’ to Kathleen and her helpers!

Needless to say, as this first coffee morning was such a success it is something we would definitely like to continue to do on a monthly basis. Christine and Mike Clunes, living in La Barraca de Aquas Vivas (96 258 9173), will be holding the next coffee morning on Tuesday, 22nd April, and Ron Gaffney, who lives in Marxuquera, has very kindly offered to hold a coffee morning in May – the date to be advised. So, we would like you all to come and give them – and P.E.P.A. – your support.

If any of you would be able to hold a coffee morning in your home in the coming months, we would be most appreciative. Please telephone Kathleen on
96 280 2205 who will be delighted to liaise with you about dates etc.

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GRATEFUL THANKS FROM THE P.E.P.A. WAIFS AND STRAYS!

We, the abandoned dogs and cats who have been taken into the care of P.E.P.A., are shouting from the chimney tops to say

A BIG THANK YOU

to all those wonderful people out there who have spent many hours during this past festive season on our behalf! 

We would like to thank Marie Evans and Amanda for all their efforts at their recent, very successful, Simply Natural Fayre which was held on 8th December at the Balcón de Montroy Urbanisation raising 200€ for P.E. P.A.

We also wish to say thank you to Chris and her family who run the Bed Rock Bar in Lliria. On Friday 15th December they put on a really good evening with lots of prizes (including a draw for a free Microlight Flight which was presented by Benicolet School of Microlights), food and drink – their stew and dumplings is delicious! Through their hard work, effort and kindness they raised 780€ which was split between Lliria Macmillan Cancer Support Group and P.E.P.A.

We would also like to thank everyone who took part in our Christmas Concert, which was held in the Casa de Cultura on Monday 18th December. The excellent Marina Alta Choir, who, despite, sore throats, coughs and colds, once again, put on a splendid performance! 

Think of it, twenty-six lovely ladies and gentlemen singing all those beautiful Christmas songs just for us abandoned dogs, not to mention the feral cats who will now be able to be castrated and sterilized! Imagine the fun all those girl cats will now be able to have with the boys without the fear of becoming pregnant, and all us dogs who will be able to continue to live the ‘Life of Riley’, being cared for by our foster carers until we find a new home!

Of course, apart from The Marina Alta Choir, we owe a debt of gratitude to all those who took part in such a successful evening. Santa and his helpers! The twenty-nine local businesses who supported us by advertising in our programme, and The Benicolet School of Microlighting who, once again, donated a free Microlight Flight! In all a magnificent 1680€ was raised!
 
So you can see why, not only us dogs and cats, but all the P.E.P.A. volunteers are ‘over the moon’ with the tremendous amount of support received during this festive season.

If you would like to become part of the P.E.P.A. team of volunteers, and have fun like the people below, please call 650 304 746 (10.00a.m. - 2.00p.m)

Joy from P.E.P.A. and Marie and Amanda from Simply Natural

Loads of fun at the Bed Rock Bar

The Marina Alta Choir

Santa and his helper

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WHENEVER YOU SEE A P.E.P.A. COLLECTING BOX DON'T FORGET TO DROP IN A COIN, HOWEVER SMALL.     EVERY CENT YOU CONTRIBUTE GOES TOWARDS GIVING SOME WRETCHED ANIMAL A BETTER LIFE.   

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PLACE A COLLECTING BOX IN YOUR AREA PLEASE CONTACT 96 285 2869

P.E.P.A. ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS

CAN YOU PLEASE HELP???

WE URGENTLY REQUIRE FOSTER CARERS FOR DOGS.

We have foster carers in many areas from Valencia down to Torrevieja, but we always need more in order to cope with the increasing number of abandoned dogs.

If you are interested in participating in this very rewarding work, please call the following number: 650 304 746

Click on the FOSTERING button at the top and bottom of each page for more information.

Click here to email us

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PERHAPS YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP US IN OTHER WAYS?

We are looking for someone who is bright, intelligent and wanting to have something to do other than sit in the sun! Why? Because we urgently need someone who is able to look after P.E.P.A. fund-raising. Preferably someone who lives in the Gandia area and someone who has a computer. Ideally, that someone would be able to recruit volunteers to help with the organizing of fund-raising events, such as Fun Day, Petanca competitions, Lunches with talks, Concerts, etc. Car Rallies, Treasure Hunts etc.

It is hard work, but it is also very rewarding and a lot of fun and all the time you are meeting lots of people with the similar interests.

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We are also looking for volunteers who can help with our Feral Cat programme, with a view to actually running the programme after a suitable training period. If you are a cat lover this may really interest you.

The work is not hard, or difficult, mainly taking and making telephone calls, keeping updated sheets and organizing the placements of traps up and down the coast. At the moment we have traps in several areas from Gandia down to Murcia, so there would not be too much running around.

This, like all our work, is very rewarding and you would benefit from the knowledge that you would be doing a really good service to the community.

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Would you like to have a P.E.P.A. stall at any of the large weekend markets in your area? P.E.P.A. will give you full back-up.

Would you like to take part in setting up our education programme? There is so much to be done and this could be a particularly rewarding pastime, especially if you have experience with children and can speak Spanish.

Do you have experience in journalism and would like to write short articles about animals for our website?

In order to expand our activities we need volunteers in all these areas. Please telephone 96 280 8332 to find out more. Click here to email us

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