Derry Township Community Cats (DTCC), a nonprofit organization that provides trap/neuter/return (TNR) and vaccination services for outdoor stray cats, will present its annual "Stuff the Truck" event on Saturday, Nov. 20, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Karns Food, 731 Cherry Drive, Hershey.

Shoppers will be asked to help fill the truck with supplies, including Purina Cat and Kitten Chow and Purina wet cat food, Fancy Feast and Friskies wet cat food and Yesterday's News brand cat litter. Karns gift cards will also be accepted.

DTCC was founded 10 years ago as way to humanely control the outdoor cat population in Derry Township. After humanely trapping free-roaming cats, neutering and vaccinating them, volunteers return them to their locations.

"People really love animals, particularly cats, and they hate to see them out and about. If they are going to live outside, let's make sure they are not reproducing, and the only way to do that is to trap them and get them spayed or neutered," said Ginger Lowe, DTCC president. "The neighborhood feeds them, and they can be semi-friendly, but not the kind you can bring into the house."

DTCC volunteers will deliver a trap to the homeowner and provide instructions on how to use it. "We will come out and get the cats and take them to our facility," Lowe noted.

The cats are later transported to a clinic where they are spayed or neutered and are given the appropriate vaccinations. "We set up cages and feed them and make sure that after surgery everyone is healed before they are turned back out," said Lowe.

DTCC is not a rescue, but it does partner with rescue organizations in the area that can find homes for kittens that may be trapped along with the mother cats. Unlike adult cats, kittens can be socialized and eventually adopted.

All of the efforts are carried out by volunteers. "We have between 20 and 25 volunteers. Not all of them do the trapping. We need people who will feed the cats and change litter boxes before and after the spay and neuter operation," Lowe said. "We also have volunteers that take the cats over to the clinic and then wait and bring them back."

Derry Township finances the cost of the spay and neuter for each of the cats, but the organization must purchase its own cat food, litter and other items. "The supplies that we need to care for the cats before and after their surgery - these expenses are not reimbursed," said Lowe. "'Stuff the Truck' is critical for us to obtain these supplies so that we can care for the cats this year and next year."

According to http://www.derrytownshipcats.org, to date, the group has trapped, neutered and returned more than 1,200 community cats. "After a peak a few years ago, (the numbers) are really coming down now. Hopefully, we have entered a maintenance phase," Lowe said.

For more information, visit the aforementioned website, call 717-592-8087 or email derrycatsinfo@gmail.com. More information is also available at http://www.facebook.com/derrytownshipcommunitycats.