Volunteering

When I was in high school, I volunteered at lots of different events and organizations. I always loved doing it. It was so rewarding to spend my time doing things that would help other people. I haven't done any volunteering in awhile, but it was hard to find the time to squeeze anything else in that needed to be done regularly when I was teaching, coaching Mock Trial, working at the Pepsi Center, taking grad classes, spending a little time with Shawn on the weekends...you get the idea.

But since we've moved to Washington...well, I've got nothing but time these days. A few weeks ago, I began thinking again about volunteering. What was my excuse now for not doing it? Granted, I was hoping to start substitute teaching (which has obviously not exactly panned out for me), but even with that, I'd still have plenty of time in the late afternoons or evening. And with rugby, Shawn is gone at training at least twice a week.

So I started doing a little research, and I found two organizations that I thought would be fun to volunteer with. I filled out online applications for both, and I was able to get started with one of them really quickly! (Just FYI...I'll blog about the other organization next week, after I have a meeting with the volunteer coordinator on Monday!)

I am now officially a volunteer with Purrfect Pals. Purrfect Pals is the world's largest cats-only adoption organization and sanctuary. The Saturday before Thanksgiving, I went to an orientation meeting at the main shelter, and I was able to tour the facility and learn a lot about this great organization. If you're interested in reading more about it, click here to go to their website.

What I get to do is play with cats! Well...and clean their cages and freshen their food and water. :-) Purrfect Pals is the group that provides the cats that are up for adoption at my local PetSmart. So on Monday, I had my in-store training, and this afternoon, I had my first solo volunteer shift! It's probably a good thing that Shawn is really allergic to cats, or I may have already brought one or two home with me this week. :-)

Here are a couple of the cats that I've been able to hang out with this week:

This is Bubba. He's an adorable black Persian kitty with a smooshed in face.

This is Gretchen. She's sweet, but probably the fattest cat I've ever seen. She waddles when she walks. She's on a diet. :)

These two are Mandy (the tabby) and Miss Muffet (the black and white one). I doubt they're actually sisters, but they're the same age and will hopefully be adopted together. They're awfully shy, but I did manage to get both of them to come out of the cage this afternoon to play with a toy. Miss Muffet wasn't too fond of the little black kittens that we have this week, though.