A Review of some of the many events

Over the years, fundraising has taken place in many forms. From the outset, donations played a very large role and were gratefully received either from breed clubs or individuals.

The Miniature Schnauzer Club opened the Fund with a donation. This was quickly followed with donations from the Northern Schnauzer Club, the Miniature Schnauzer Club of British Columbia and the American Miniature Schnauzer Club. The Schnauzer Club of GB raised monies from walks, companion dog shows and their prestigious Schnauzer Of The Year competition.

Numerous Schnauzer enthusiasts have made very generous monetary donations over the years from various activities, sale of puppies, re-homing older dogs, raffles, auctions and in memory of a loved family member or friend (the four legged variety). Donations have also been given via the founder clubs from their members.

The Schnauzer Club of Southern California donated a gold necklace with a gold Schnauzer head containing a diamond eye. The JMSEF decided to raffle these donations, along with other prizes, raising an outstanding contribution for the fund.

Other raffles have continued to be organised by all the 3 breed clubs in the UK. The JMSEF raffled the original artwork for the “SHOWTIME” and the “FUNTIME” prints and Mr Peter Newman also very kindly donated two pictures, drawn by the late Lori Bush, which again provided an excellent raffle prize.

Other donated items of memorabilia have either been auctioned via the club web sites, at the Northern Schnauzer Club (NSC) Fun Day or sold on a stall at the founder club events. Soft toys have also been donated and sold in this way.

Quizzes, homemade Christmas cards, glass wear, shopping bags, aprons, T-shirts with a Miniature Schnauzer design, a limited edition plate with a design drawn by the late Lori Bush, limited edition prints: SHOWTIME, FUNTIME, BATHTIME & BEDTIME (the latter being the last in the series that is now available for purchase). The JMSEF has organised companion dog shows and collected ink cartridges for recycling all fundraising activities over the years.

The SCHNAUZERETTES calendar was an achievement in itself. The idea was put to the group in 2004 to produce a calendar of ladies in their ‘birthday suits’ with their dogs. The one male member of the group was not present at the meeting and to prevent any embarrassment it was decided to keep the calendar a secret from him until the photographs had been taken. The calendar would resemble the one produced by the Calendar Girls. Fifteen ladies, who owned any of the three varieties of Schnauzers, were approached, to feature on this 15-month calendar. It was felt that a fifteen-month calendar could be sold at CRUFTS in 2005 with 12 full months still available. A venue was located with indoor and outdoor facilities. Each lady was given a month (the names and months were drawn from two hats). The months had to be related to an activity that occurred within in that month and each lady would bring her own props to set the scene. January – snow setting; February – Valentine’s Day; March – St. Patricks Day; April – April showers; May – May Day; June – Ascot; July – Wimbledon; August – beach scene; September – back to school; October – Halloween; November – Bonfire night; December – Christmas dinner; January – New Year celebrations; February – Pancake Day & March – Mothering Sunday.

The venue’s garden and house was transformed, as each scene was set. Two friends of the chairman came from Northern Ireland with their skills in hairdressing and make up. Carol Ann Johnson was the photographer of choice. Once the photo shoot had taken place, sponsors were found who would make a donation and in return, their name/kennel/business would be printed on a page. They would also receive a free copy of the calendar. Sponsors came from businesses and individuals. The Presidents of the Miniature Schnauzer Club (MSC), Miss Morrison-Bell and Schnauzer Club of Great Britain (SCGB), Mr F Morley, the Vice-Presidents of MSC, Mr T Court and NSC, Mrs O Bullock all were the first to offer their support of this project.

The printer of the calendar, a local company, also donated 70 extra calendars. Including these extras the fund had 1070 calendars. The response to purchase these calendars was tremendous and they were posted all over the world. The calendar was even featured in the television program of CRUFTS 2005. All but 2 were sold, one was kept for the fund’s records and the final one was purchased in 2012 for a donation (the purchaser offered the full price of the calendar).

The generosity of Schnauzer enthusiasts to engage in the fundraising activities over the years has been outstanding and continues through to today.

Heartfelt THANKS go to all of you that have donated to the JMSEF over the years.