Hey EVERYONE - Ahem, ahem ... ATTENTION!  ATTENTION!  Just thought of
this idea - stay with me here a minute ... .  I'm sure there MUST be
someone out there who is in conjunction with or has connections with
a travel agency that would donate one FREE round trip ticket (within
reasonable price and that would be used during non-peak season or holiday
times) that would be raffled off as a FREE R/T to the next Ferret
Symposium location ????
 
OR BETTER YET, I'm constantly seeing TONS of people trying to sell their
FREE airline vouchers on ebay - would any of those voucher owners be
willing to 'donate' their voucher(s) to a 'raffle' to benefit ferret
shelters nationwide (or offset some of the symposium expenses)?  C'MON,
I'm curious to know how many of the voucher owners actually PAID any
straight "out of pocket money" for their free vouchers?  If not, then no
one is LOSING any money and it's really a WIN-WIN sitaution!  And
obviously the voucher owner isn't all that worried about losing out on
the opportunity for free travel or else he/she would be using the voucher
instead of selling it!
 
So this is the deal: Raffle the voucher off for the sole purpose of
providing a FREE round trip flight for the raffle winner to the next
ferret symposium!
 
It could be done a couple of different ways ... either auction the
voucher off just like any other voucher auction (on ebay) with the money
made from the highest bidder going to the shelther network as a whole OR
... (to avoid one single person essentially making a massive 'donation'
with the winning bid)
 
Increase the amount of profit made with instant cash flow by RAFFLING the
voucher(s) off for a set raffle ticket price, like any other raffle ...
Then each individual could buy as many raffle tickets as they want.  This
way, the shelters will have cash "donations" on hand immediately and the
raffle ticket purchasers can feel good knowing that with every ticket
they purchased, they are increasing their odds at winning such a GREAT
prize AND are helping the shelters!
 
I, for one, would be happy to purchase at least $20.00 in tickets (a drop
in the bucket if I won!) or 'bid' on a ticket (esp. knowing what the
funds would be going toward) since I usually bid up to $150 -$200 (my
limit) anyway when I'm looking for some cheap airfare - however, little
ole' me usually ends up getting out bid by DOUBLE my price when the bid
is over!  The final going bid I'm accustomed to seeing these days is
about $300 - $400 for ONE R/T ticket.
 
And of course their probably be no worry about the flying date
conflicting with 'blackout dates' on the voucher because the symposium
would most likely NOT be held during peak flying season or holiday times
I imagine???
 
Imagine if just ONE person holding a voucher donated it and then what the
'pot' would look like if every FML reader bought only ONE $1.00 - $2.00
raffle ticket, if not more????  (not sure what a good going rate for each
ticket woud be).  WOW!  And better yet, the winner of the raffle is
GUARANTEED a place at the next symposium - REGARDLESS of where's it going
to be held!  !  !
 
SO ..... I'm challenging ALL of you out there to give this some SERIOUS
thought and serious input to see HOW (not IF) this will happen!  I'm
willing to do MY part, are YOU ?????  I welcome your personal emails but
also think that it might be better to post any and all ideas directly to
the FML so that everyone can discuss it.
 
Thanks for your attention, consideration and input in advance - it's ALL
about FUZZY LOVE!
 
Jen, Sasha and Snowy (hanging out with Bette and Clyde on occasion)
 
(all thinking about little miss "Teacup" down the street at the local pet
store and desperately wanting her to become a part of our family BUT ...
I MUST be strong and be responsible to say NO at the moment!)
[Posted in FML issue 4308]