The volunteers at FieldHaven never cease to amaze me with their compassion, dedication, energy and, last but not least, ingenuity!
The latest gig they have going was dreamt up by FieldHaven Foster Coordinator, Penny Dougherty. 7 chain-smoking volunteers have pledged to quit smoking if you will support them by donating $10 per month until they "fall off the wagon" or 1 year; whichever comes first. They call themselves the Chain Gang.
They've been planning Q(uit)-Day for over a week now; looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. Each step is a milestone. The last pack or carton of cigarettes purchased. The last cup of morning coffee shared with a smoke. The last wind-down-the-day beer with a cigarette. The last phone chat with a girlfriend while having a few puffs. The last quiet time on the deck reading the paper with a cigarette.
So, Chain-Gangers - what are you going to do with those free fingers now? Knitting? Texting? Dusting? Hey - how about petting a kitty? Yes, turn to your personal Purr Therapists to get you through these tough times!
The official kick-off began yesterday with a team breakfast accompanied by several rock-solid supporters.
And, this morning, they all assembled at FieldHaven at 6 am. Yes, 6 am! They took their challenge truly public on the Fox Morning News! And, they were actually in a good mood. Well, there was that 10 minutes between 6:00 and 6:10 when the news team wasn't there yet and they began wondering if I had totally scammed them. But the Fox 40 camera van showed up just in time. Oh, my, if they'd been much later the news lead-in could've been a whole lot different:
Volunteers at Local Animal Rescue Lynch Founder
But we had a great time showing off our kitties and the Chain Gang declaring their commitment to remaining smoke-free in order to raise much-needed funds for FieldHaven's new shelter. And, potentially saving their own lives in the process!
God Bless them in this journey.
Please support their efforts by sponsoring one, two or all of the volunteers.
For more information on the Chain Gang and to sponsor them go to
To read and post to their blog go to http://stopsmokingchain.blogspot.com/
