Volunteering at a shelter

[kitten645]

Hey Cindy! I work right across the street in the Blackhawk Plaza! The event should be lots of fun! I know by the time you see this you'll already know that! No need to be nervous...volunteers are great people and usually very grateful for any help anyone is willing to give. Good luck!

[jennielynn1970]

You'll be fine, and they will adore you!! No worries, my dear!

Can't wait to hear how it went!

[Taz_Zoee]

Hey Cindy! I work right across the street in the Blackhawk Plaza! The event should be lots of fun! I know by the time you see this you'll already know that! No need to be nervous...volunteers are great people and usually very grateful for any help anyone is willing to give. Good luck!

I meant to post earlier that I would be out there, but I forgot. Sorry.

Anyway, when I first got there I was so uncomfortable. Especially since I had on the volunteer shirt people were asking me questions I couldn't answer. The guy I was supposed to check in with was busy with cat adoptions (3 kitties were adopted today!! Woo Hoo!!), so I stood with another volunteer and started learning the ropes. Then when the "boss" got there she put me on the merchandise table. It wasn't very busy, so that was good. But I was actually starting to answer peoples questions.
Then the weird thing happened. ARF people were making a huge deal out of the fact that I just had orientation last Saturday. I was like . And then it was explained to me that usually volunteers have to go through a training session and put in "x" amount of time (I think she said 6 months) before being put on an event.
Well, I guess it pays off to sorta know someone in the company. LOL But I do plan on going through the training. It's just that most of the training sessions were only offered during my regular work hours. I'll have to see what I can do about that. I don't want people thinking I don't have to follow rules.
OMG, I could sit here and type all night about things that happened in the 2 1/2 hours I was there. LOL But I don't want anyone falling asleep on their keyboards. That would hurt. So I'll end by saying that next Saturday I'm going to go learn how to work the boutique at the center.

Thanks for putting up with my babbling.

[jennielynn1970]

Wait, there were people fussing about the fact that you were helping out, just because you didn't have all the training yet? Normally shelters are happy to just have volunteers who want to help. If their training is during work hours, they'll have to figure out some way to accommodate your hours (it's not like you work weird hours, ya know, lol). Not everyone has the good fortune to be at home during the daytime hours (hahahah... like me during the summer!).

Glad you had a good time, learned a lot, and whatever you do, don't let them intimidate you. You're there to do good for the animals, and you're not going to quit your job or take vacation to do their training, lol, so don't let them make you feel badly about being there either.

Good luck, and have fun (remember that!!).

[Taz_Zoee]

Wait, there were people fussing about the fact that you were helping out, just because you didn't have all the training yet? Normally shelters are happy to just have volunteers who want to help. If their training is during work hours, they'll have to figure out some way to accommodate your hours (it's not like you work weird hours, ya know, lol). Not everyone has the good fortune to be at home during the daytime hours (hahahah... like me during the summer!).

Glad you had a good time, learned a lot, and whatever you do, don't let them intimidate you. You're there to do good for the animals, and you're not going to quit your job or take vacation to do their training, lol, so don't let them make you feel badly about being there either.

Good luck, and have fun (remember that!!).

No, no. I'm sorry, I guess that came out wrong. When I said people were making a big deal out of it, it wasn't in a bad/negative way....at all. And it wasn't the other volunteers, it was actual employees. They were saying it more in the sense like - can you believe she just had orientation last Saturday?? Like they couldn't believe I was doing so well. The one "boss" lady said she knew I would do a good job. How she knew that, I have no idea. Maybe she talked to the other ladies that I had been exchanging emails with over the past months.
Another volunteer did make a comment about the fact that she had been there longer (as in she got there earlier than I did at the event) than me and I already had a job. I was like....oops. In fact, now that I think about it, she went to talk to the boss and I didn't see her again. Hmmm.....

But thank you for your concern Jennie. And I am going to check out the training sessions again. I think they offer them at different times each week or month. Exactly like you said, I'm there to give my time and have fun doing something I love. I will not let anyone else stand in my way of having fun. And overall today was a lot of fun for me. I met lots of nice people, ARF people and the public. Even though I've had a splitting headache since I got home. And I can't wait til next Saturday to work the boutique. That's where people go to get supplies for their new animals.

Here I go again, babbling. Ugh, I need to go take medicine and close my eyeballs now.

Till next Saturday!!

[Giselle]

ARF is a very high end shelter, if there is such a thing =P If ARF were a dog food, it would definitely be Solid Gold or something along those lines. Pricy and meticulous. They do good work, but they are wealthy. As a result, they can afford to splurge on certain things and the facility is truly top-notch. From my limited experience with a few of the volunteers there, they can be a little overbearing, but it all comes out of a passion for the animals. It's like us PT people giving out more information than the OP really needs and almost scaring them off I know I've probably done that more than once, so it's not bad; it's just healthy enthusiasm!

Aww, Cindy, you were so new; I'm sure you did a heckuva job!! Don't be so hard on yourself =) At the next event, you'll be confident and having a ball!