TimesLeader.com

February 1, 2009

Animal fans purr over e-newsletter

The SPCA of Luzerne County inaugurates a new way of reaching those who support its work.

MATT CHMIELEWSKI editintern@timesleader.com

PLAINS TWP. -- The only local animal shelter of its kind, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Luzerne County, began sending its new quarterly newsletter on Tuesday.

The newsletter will not only inform people of the events taking place at the shelter, but also what’s going on in the local animal community. This first letter of the year will be sent through e-mail only, with the rest being mailed to homes.

Along with the newsletter, the SPCA is sending out a biweekly e-mail to keep subscribers informed.

Executive Director of the SPCA of Luzerne County Vince Sweeney calls the newsletter “tremendous.”

“We have been working on it for the last couple of weeks,” Sweeney said.

The newsletter is donated to the SPCA by local companies Solid Cactus and Payne Printery. “It wouldn’t be possible without the two companies,” Sweeney said.

“With this donation, we can still have every cent that the community donates go right into the shelter.”

The SPCA is not government funded and relies solely on donations from the community.

The newsletter has more than 11,500 subscribers, while the e-mail subscriber list is around 3,000.

The letter is already generating feedback. “Within five minutes of releasing it, my e-mail inbox was filled with positive letters,” Sweeney said

On the Web

The newsletter can be found at the organization’s Web site, www.spcaluzernecounty.org.

Matt Chmielewski, a Times Leader intern, can be reached at 831-7378.