On April 16th through April 26th, we celebrated our amazing volunteers during National Volunteer Appreciation Week. Each year, nonprofit organizations and communities recognize volunteers and celebrate service, and we pride ourselves on our volunteers feeling welcomed and appreciated. We know that volunteers are the backbone of our organization and critical to our mission to champion a thriving community of pets and our people. We are extremely grateful for our volunteers that help us with everything from community outreach, profile writing, animal care, our social media and so much more.
We have had to make adjustments to our operations in response to COVID-19, and unfortunately, were unable to recognize our amazing volunteers in person. But even with volunteer activities suspended for the time being, we’re reminded of how essential volunteers are to the work that we do in animal welfare. That being said, we virtually recognized our volunteers this year by doing the following.
- Hosted a Quarter 1 Virtual Town Hall Meeting where we showcased the trends and impact our volunteers have helped us achieve.
- Hosted and played Virtual Isolation Bingo where we shared laughs together.
- Hosted a live virtual session where we created DIY pet toys and games.
- Hosted a Step-a-thon to keep our volunteers moving and enjoying the beautiful weather in a friendly competition.
- Hosted a breakfast challenge to create a cat or dog face with breakfast foods.
- Created a thank you to volunteers video and shared on our public Facebook page.
- Provided virtual yoga for free to our volunteers to promote health and well-being during this time.
- Created and shared a Helping Hands and Paws slideshow sharing compliments to one another to keep us connected and empowered.
- Created and shared a slideshow of memorable moments.
Check out some of our favorite videos from the week.
We are looking forward to returning to the shelter environment when this passes, where we can continue the celebration of our wonderful volunteers and staff in person. Until then, thank you for all of your time and hard work. We could not do what we do without you!
Sarah O’Donnell
Shelter and Volunteer Manager