For a while now, I have been wanting to do something to something to help raise money for a wonderful organization right in my back yard, the Animal Friends of Elk & Cameron Counties.  Animal Friends is a no-kill shelter that houses a number of adorable rescues cats & kittens in need of a good home.  They also work with those who are more feral to help them become human-friendly & nurse those with medical issues back to health.

And though I have long been a proud supporter of Animal Friends of Elk & Cameron Counties, I’ll admit that my recent brush with Little Miss Interstate kitty has spurred me to get my butt in gear & do this already.

Since I’ve given this a lot of thought but never actually put my plan into motion before, this is going to be a trial run.  But I’m relying on you guys to make it a huge success so we can hopefully do it again…& again…& again.  Especially since I have a lot more books saved up & ready to send out for future “good cause” fundraisers.

So here’s how it works:  I’ve got a big box of terrific books I’d like to send to one lucky winner of a fundraising drawing.  All proceeds from this will go directly to Animal Friends of Elk & Cameron County.  In fact, you can make your checks or money orders out directly to them.  (If the full name is too long to fit on your check, simply “Animals Friends” will be fine, I’m sure.)

For every dollar you send to help the kitties, you will receive one entry in the Book Bonanza drawing.  (A cyber Chinese auction, if you will.)  Send $1.00 (you cheapskate *vbg*), your name goes in the hat once…send $10.00, your name goes in 10 times…send $50.00, your name goes in 50 times…& so on & so on.

Send your donations (payable to Animals Friends or Animal Friends of Elk & Cameron Counties) to Heidi Betts, P.O. Box 99, Kylertown, PA  16847.  U.S. residents & U.S. funds only, please.  Remember, this is a trial run & I don’t quite have all of my ducks—or kitties, as it were—in a row yet.  Let’s start out small & simple.

The other thing you might want to do is contact me once you’ve put your donation in the mail so I can keep an eye out for it.  That way, if the date of the drawing rolls around & I haven’t received anything from you, I can drop you a quick note to let you know.

I’m going to give everyone a month to make their donations, picking a winner on my birthday, November 11th.  (Unless things seem to be going well, in which case I might extend this deadline.  Stay tuned for updates on that, just in case.)  And this is not limited only to Darlings of The Dungeon.  Please spread the word.  The more, the merrier, & it’s for a really good cause.

However, to kick things off, I am going to award each of my Dungeon regulars who participate in this Animal Friends fundraiser one free entry, regardless of how much your total donation is.  (Don’t worry, I know who you are, My Darlings.  As soon as I see your name on the check, I’ll credit you your extra entry. )

If you’d like to know who & how your donations will be helping, visit the Animal Friends of Elk & Cameron Counties website.

If you’d like to know what titles will be included in the giant Book Bonanza fundraising giveaway, read on…

(* denotes autographed by author)

NATURE OF THE BEAST — Hannah Howell, Adrienne Basso, Eve Silver

BEFORE THE SCANDAL — Suzanne Enoch

TROUBLE IN HIGH HEELS — Christina Dodd

OUT OF THE NIGHT — Robin T. Popp

TRACELESS — Debra Webb

IF I HAD YOU — Lynn Kurland

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE — Kristan Higgins

SEXIEST MAN ALIVE — Diana Holquist

*THE MURDER GAME — Beverly Barton

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT — Lisa Kleypas

KISSING SIN — Keri Arthur

MASTER OF WOLVES — Angela Knight

*LETHAL ATTRACTION — Diana Duncan

*COLD CASE CONNECTION — Kathleen Long

A SEXY TIME OF IT — Cara Summers

TALL, DARK, & LETHAL — Dana Marton

STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT — Kerry Connor

THE MAN BEHIND THE COP — Janice Kay Johnson

SEDUCED BY THE RICH MAN — Maureen Child

BEDDED BY THE BILLIONAIRE — Leanne Banks

*THE SECRET SOLDIER — Jennifer Morey

*TWIN TARGETS — Jessica Andersen

DANGER SIGNALS — Kathleen Creighton

DUCHESS BY NIGHT — Eloisa James

AT GRAVE’S END — Jeaniene Frost

DOGS & GODDESSES — Jennifer Cruisie, Anne Stuart, Lani Diane Rich

HEART OF THE WOLF — Terry Spear

SUDDENLY ONE SUMMER — Barbara Freethy

DON’T BARGAIN WITH THE DEVIL — Sabrina Jeffries

BRING IT ON — Laura Anne Gilman

I don’t know about you, but I’d be willing to pitch in a few dollars for a good cause if it meant a chance to win that fabulous line-up of books! 

Will I be able to say the same about you?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 at 7:27 am and is filed under for a good cause, giveaway. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.