01/21/2022
We need your help. And for us here at Little Ray's, this is a difficult thing to ask.
WHO WE ARE
We have always prided ourselves on a strong work ethic and creative problem solving and have successfully run our animal rescue operation for over 26 years. And yet, we are at a loss and deeply saddened as we fight for the survival of our Canadian company and are reaching out to you for your donations to help save our animals and our company.
26 years ago I started Little Ray’s Reptile Adventure as a way to support the animal rescue operations we are well known for. In 1998 I left a very good job with Scotiabank and I am certain people thought I was crazy. In 2000 Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo, now Little Ray’s Nature Centre, opened. By 2001 we were doing educational programs across Ontario and by 2007 we were going across Canada. In 2013 we opened in Hamilton. I don’t believe anyone ever thought any of this was possible, but it turns out it was.
Since April of 1995 we have been rescuing, sheltering, rehabilitating, releasing or rehoming rescued animals from Ontario and across Canada. We have created programs to educate on responsible pet ownership, conservation and environmental rehabilitation. We work with our province and federal government to home animals that were seized or abandoned. Our revenue generated from our centres, festivals and programming directly fund these animal conservation and welfare efforts. We believe in what we do and have given blood, sweat, and tears to ensuring there was a safe place for exotic rescues.
REVENUE LOSS - COVID HAS HIT US HARD
We cannot simply turn off the heat and lights and wait another lockdown out - the 900 rescued animals in our care depend on us for shelter, care and food. January, February and March is our busy season. We generate 60% of our gross revenue in Canada over this period and all of our profit. We lost March of 2020, our single busiest month of the year. We lost all of January through March 2021 and we are now losing our entire January through March season in 2022.
We are very thankful for the wage and rent subsidy programs we have received from the federal government. We are extremely thankful for any support we have been and continue to receive from our members and community. Although the Province of Ontario seemed to do everything they could to support us we continued to fall through the cracks and fail to qualify for grants and programs with restrictive criteria that do not take live animal care into consideration.
I presented recently to the Standing Committee for Finance for the Pre-budget consultation for Ontario. Little Ray's has been a fiscally responsible and contributing business to the Ontario economic sector. The 5 years prior to the pandemic Little Ray’s paid out over 6 million dollars in salaries in Ontario and collected and remitted over 2.4 million dollars in taxes in Ontario and we have received exactly $51,327 from the Ontario government while borrowing 1.6 million dollars to survive this pandemic. We simply continue to fall through the cracks of these one size fits all provincial funding and grant programs.
OUR FUTURE
Our small Hamilton nature centre has been able to hang in there due to the small size however with impending shut downs and limited support on the horizons, we are navigating the reality of the little engine that could in Ottawa. Even if we wanted to borrow more money there are no FedDev Ontario programs. There is no HASCAP program for our type of business.
To ask again for public help is a difficult thing. But we are putting our animals and our staff ahead of our pride. We have served our community, our province and our nation for 26 years and have saved over 6000 animals and run educational programming and conservation efforts across Canada.
Please help us. Any donation is greatly appreciated.
Paul 'Little Ray' Goulet
To donate visit:
https://littleraysnaturecenter.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donate
Or through;
https://www.gofundme.com/f/LittleRaysReliefFund
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
We need your help. And for us here at Little Ray's, this is a difficult thing to ask. WHO WE ARE … Shane McConnell needs your support for Covid Relief Fund
