#weirdoplates adventures

Well, amazing Weirdos, let me tell you about our adventures in making a Weirdo license plate a reality. But first, a little bit of information on the plates themselves.

In order to get these plates in production, the state requires that we obtain a minimum of 150 complete petition signatures. This means we need the name, address, phone number, email address, license plate and drivers license number of 150 Ohioans. It's not county dependent, nor do you you have to be a registered voter. Our goal is to get 200, so that should any be deemed invalid due to legibility or other issues, we won't fall short of the requirement. Once we have these signatures, we have to submit them to a state representative that is willing to sponsor a bill to approve the production of the plates. At that point, we can then apply to the BMV to begin production. We are then required to have at least 25 plates renewed each year, starting the second year, in order to keep it going.

The reason that we want a specialized Weirdo plate (aside from the fact that they'll look catastic on our cars) is because we need reliable sources of revenue to continue our efforts to help cats in N.E. Ohio. The plates will be assigned a renewal fee of up to $50. The BMV will receive $10 of the renewal fee and the remainder will come to the Weirdos for our emergency vet care fund. Reliable and consistent sources of revenue are critical to our organization, so this is a huge opportunity for us. 

This past few weeks, we have been welcomed into adoption events with House of Mews, Forever Friends Foundation and Viva Los Gatos, The Lake County Volunteer Fair and to local shops, bars and restaurants such as Tracy's Trinkets & Treasures, Wadsworth Tavern, Manja and Blueline Bar & Grill. We have met so many amazing Weirdos and been able to put faces to the names we see every day on our Facebook page. We've had the opportunity to get the word out there about who we are and what we do to lots of new people and we brought in over $130 for the emergency fund though our swag sales at these events. We have had Weirdos donate handmade catnip toys and kitty magnets to help us raise money and we are so very grateful for and touched by these thoughtful and selfless gestures.

With that said, I am happy to say we are at 137 signatures as of tonight! And we will have more once a few people get back to me with their license plate numbers. That's always the hardest part! LOL

In the last few weeks, despite many hours of work, I have had the MOST amazing time. There are no words to thank you all enough. Whether you shared our posts about the events, came to sign the petition, buy my decals or the awesome Weirdo swag in person or online, YOU made a difference. People talk about how much good we're doing, but we are very aware that NONE of this would be possible without YOU. To all of the owners of the establishments who welcomed us in with open arms, we are so grateful to you. To the rescues who were happy to give us space at their adoption events, you ROCK! 

If you would like to learn more about the local places that we're raving about, check the resources section of our website. If you'd like to get involved with us, send me a message! We are still looking for a couple more places, especially near Lakewood, Parma, North Olmsted, Independence or Mayfield Heights to host an event for the remaining signatures, so if you have a place and are willing, please let me know.

Again, THANK YOU so much for all that you do, Weirdos. We truly appreciate it!

Best wishes & purrs,
​Amber Tischler