Present: Suzanne, Beth, Emily, Katie, Wendy, Joan, Jean P., Shannon, Jillian, Ahsan, Kathy, Jean J., Jim, Carol, Nicole, Lindsay, Tom, Aaron, Andy (and Brendan), Sue, Steve, Corinna, Stephanie K, Diane, Stephanie V

Meeting commenced at 10:35.

February 22, 2010 marks the tenth anniversary of HRN.

Benefit at Giggles Comedy Club (Rt 1, Saugus) on Sunday evening, April 11

$20 per ticket; there will be dinner and raffle

Raffle: seeking ~10 prizes

Facebook group created in December 2009; there are already 496 fans

Newsletters: three times a year (Feb > June > October); seeking writers and topics (medical > behavioral > feel good)

HRN business cards: good to have at education days, rescue sites, wherever there is an opportunity to talk to people about rabbit care and HRN

Most people learn about HRN from doing an Internet search and finding the HRN website.

HRNVol= low volume, moderated; posts about volunteer opportunities

HRNchat= high volume; unmoderated; conversations about rabbits

HouseRabbitNetwork= low volume; moderated; HRN news and events

There is a private password-protected area for members that includes list of foster homes and basic stats about each foster bunny.

Contact Suzanne for login and password information.

1./ Yankee Candle Sales

Joan is the coordinator

Sales packets were made available at the meeting

Sale period= February 1 to March 10

Catalog is available online

Products ordered will be available for pick up at Joan's and Suzanne's.

Local orders only; no shipping available

2./ Animal Rescue site (nationwide and local voting contest)

HRN has won the Massachusetts top award twice ($1000 per award)

Another round of voting began; HRN is currently trailing Mansfield Animal Shelter.

Join email list for daily reminders to vote

3./ Bunny boarding in volunteers' homes

Shannon is the coordinator.

Last year raised about $3000-$4000 from boarding fees

Keep receipts of purchases made on behalf of HRN (hay, pellets, etc)

Keep a driving log (travel to education days, stray rescues, bunny transports, etc.)

Hotline volunteer for Wednesday (day of the week may be flexible). The HRN hotline is “the core of the organization” and volunteers are great about responding promptly to messages. Contact Emily if interested.

Fundraising Coordinator for fundraising events

Stray Bunny Rescue Coordinator: He/she does not need to be present at every rescue mission, but must be able to gather information about the stray bunny sighting and coordinate a team of volunteers to make the rescue.

(Suzanne also mentioned the need for a Craigslist Listing Coordinator, but it turns out that Kathy is still serving in this role.)

Education Days at pet stores and festivals raise awareness.

Volunteers are partnered for education days so one person is not doing it alone.

Most questions are basic; more complicated questions can be followed up.

A two-week blitz: February 1-14

Post as many flyers on public bulletin boards; keep track of locations

Volunteers who post at the most locations will receive a $25 gift certificate

Flyers were available at the meeting and can also be downloaded from the HRN website

Foster homes are needed;

Or help a foster home with rabbit care or promotion of their foster rabbits

Help promote the foster bunnies: post good photos and video clips to the HRN website and blog

More visibility is needed for the smaller foster homes.

A suggestion was put forth to create a map that illustrates what cities/towns have an HRN foster home, so that people interested to adopt can see if there is a foster home near where they live. Addresses will not be listed; locations would appear as dots on the map.

To be eligible to run for a board position, a volunteer must be active in the organization and be willing to take responsibility for HRN.

Candidates for the 2010 Board are Shannon, Melissa, and Suzanne.

Shannon, Melissa, and Suzanne were accepted by unanimous vote.

Meeting adjourned at 11:20.

The minutes for this meeting were prepared by Jean Player.

February 1, 2010