This year's Halloween Humanitarian award goes to Stor-It-For-Ya Self-Storage in Transylvania, Ore. The facility has offered the use of several large units for a local bat sanctuary to house animals in need. The colony was recently ousted from its cave during the construction of a new mountainside resort. The homeless bats then sought refuge in residents' attics, eaves and garages.
 
"We started getting calls about bats in peoples' homes," said Abigail Sinister, director of Bat Haven Wildlife Preserve. "There's still a lot of misinformation about these animals out there, and the community was working itself into a panic. We had to do somethingfast." 

Sinister first called the Transylvania Zoo, but the organization was unable to assist. "The zoo had just taken in a rare exhibit of cave-dwelling nerocrombers. It's well-known these creatures feed on bats, so co-habitation was out of the question," Sinister mused. It was then she turned to local storage facilities in hopes of finding shelter. The high-ceiling units used for records and RV storage are an ideal space for simulating a bat's natural environment, she said.
 
Stor-It-For Ya stepped up to the plate, and even offered to help Sinister install roosts and an exit shaft in the units' roof.
 
"We're extremely pleased to help the local colony, said facility co-owner Justin Coffin. "We have often enjoyed watching the bats' evening flightnow we'll get to see it up-close and personal."
 
Coffin and his sister, Sarah Strange, have owned the site for what seems like a hundred years, he said. The siblings frequently contribute to community-service efforts like the annual blood drive. "It's just our way of giving back to the town that has given us so much," said Coffin. "We hope our new bat shelter will be a real scream for tenants."
 
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The spooky staff of Inside Self-Storage wishes you a happy and safe Halloween!
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