DreamCATchers has to move!
At the end of last year, we received the difficult news that we have to move out of our current location. Fortunately, we have already found a new location, but the entire move will have a significant financial impact on our operations.
Therefore, we would greatly appreciate any assistance we can get!
You can read below how you can help us.
Finding a new location...
Finding a new location was not an easy task. Landlords are often reluctant to allow cats on their premises. And also, where do we want to go? Do we stay in the city center with high rental prices or move to the outskirts where it's a bit cheaper? After inquiring, it quickly became clear that we had to go for a location in the city, despite the high rental prices. We are relieved that we have found a suitable building. In the autumn, we will be moving to Baudelokaai 13, still in Ghent ;-) It is close to the city center but peacefully situated near the park. There is more space, allowing us to accommodate more cats, and eventually, the cats will be able to roam safely in a small garden adjacent to the building.Setting up a new building...
After the relief of finding a new location, the real work starts because the new building is not cat-friendly yet. To reorganize and furnish everything, we will need a significant budget. It’s difficult to predict the exact amount, but we estimate it to be around €35,000. This amount is based on what we needed when we started in our current building. While we can recuperate some items, everything has become much more expensive, and we require additional furniture, doors, (glass) walls, ventilation, paint, lighting, and the like. Additionally, we will have to temporarily close our doors, resulting in a significant loss of revenue.
Financing a new building...
Meanwhile, we have taken action ourselves to raise some extra funds. The volunteers organized a fantastic charity quiz, which was a great success and raised an impressive €2,400.
It's a wonderful start to our fundraising campaign!
Here are some upcoming events we’ve planned:
- Charity movie screening of “Mijn Kat en Ik” in collaboration with Sphinx Cinema on June 4th
- Benefit DreamCATchers birthday party on July 29th
- Charity improv night in collaboration with AMAI on August 10th
- Spaghetti dinner at 'Het Moment' in August
- Extra Sunday openings during the summer months
- Cookie sales ...
How can you help?
If you're not into events and large crowds, or if you don't live around Ghent and would like to help in a different way, that's absolutely fine!
Below, we've listed some possibilities for inspiration.
But maybe you have a better idea of your own?
- Organize a cookie/candy/chocolate/plant sale, whether homemade or not ;-)
- Organize a fundraising campaign on Instagram or Facebook.
- Organize a second-hand closet sale. Sell support cards (available for purchase in our shop).
- Ask your workplace if they would allow a donation box to be placed in the office (we can provide one).
- ...
- Always visit TROOPER.be when shopping online or booking a holiday.
- Donate to one of the DreamCATchers collection boxes that will be placed around Ghent.
- You can also purchase a gift card for us at IKEA or Brico.
- On our donation page, there are various options to donate, with plenty of fantastic rewards :-) ...