Connection to Volunteer Principles

Volunteer Principles:

•  Volunteering benefits the community and the volunteer.
•  Volunteer work is unpaid.
•  Volunteering is always a matter of choice.
•  Volunteering is not compulsorily undertaken to receive pensions or government allowances.
•  Volunteering is a legitimate way in which citizens can participate in the activities of their community.
• Volunteering is a vehicle for individuals or groups to address human, environmental and social needs.
• Volunteering is an activity performed in the not for profit sector only.
•  Volunteering is not a substitute for paid work.
•  Volunteers do not replace paid workers nor constitute a threat to the job security of paid workers.
• Volunteering respects the rights, dignity and culture of others.
• Volunteering promotes human rights and equality.

The Reasons I Volunteer:

• Academic Requirements
• To Feel Needed
• To Network
• To Learn Skills
• To Repay A "Debt"
• To Make New Friends
• To Explore A Career
• To Use the Skills I Have
• To Keep Busy

Before I began volunteering with Purrfect Friends, the bulk of my volunteering was with the Venture Crew, an organization I led through high school, but it was never volunteering that took any more than a day. I can't remember ever getting to know an organization and continuously adapting my actions to match their current needs over weeks or months. It was immediate gratification for the most part. I could see the impact I made in the benches that were built or the space that was made more beautiful. I thought that was volunteering, but upon further reflection, I can see where while my actions made a positive impact, it was a shallow one.

I didn't get to know the volunteers that lived what I thought was difficult to complete in a day. I didn't understand the extent of needing help and resources that exists. It's a very helpless feeling to see, despite the hours you've spent bottle feeding and holding a small life in your hands and praying, a kitten still pass away. It's hard to say you made a positive impact in that moment, but the women at Purrfect Friends live this every day with worse cases than the ones I saw in my short time with them, and they somehow still keep moving forward. Their devotion is incredible to witness and made me reflect on why I volunteer.

Having said that, I didn’t prepare for this experience by reading up on theories or leafing through books. I wanted a first-hand observation of what volunteering meant to myself and these women and how my perception evolved. At first, it was a lot of learning about various vet techniques that can be administered at home (from Regina and guided Google searches) that didn’t necessarily apply to working with the animals, but I was happy to learn any skill that could translate to a later career. I can honestly say, walking into this experience my main reason was to “experiment with new activities.” I didn’t have any crazy goals of changing animal right laws or overthrowing best practices. I wanted to learn how to care for cats, clean a few litter boxes, play with some kittens, and get all of the service hours I needed to graduate with honors. It was spring, too, so my school work was winding down and I didn’t feel as useful or as busy as I typically like. Volunteering sounded like a better use of my time than cleaning my room!

My reasons may not be noble, but that's not to say they're uncommon. In reading websites and articles about volunteering and finding or making the opportunities, I saw some of my reasons coming up again and again. The one that struck me as the most poignant was "to repay a debt." For me, the debt was tangible. I have two beautiful kittens whom I love dearly and feel as connected to as if they were my own children, and I owe that to Purrfect Friends for the wonderful work this collection of 30-40 women do.

However, these women selflessly give their time, their money and their homes to cats and kittens who would otherwise be killed or left to roam the streets for seeminly nothing. And a lot of times, they're not even rescuing from these typical places. I remember Regina looking at me once and telling me that it's the hardest thing to have to "rescue from the supposed rescuer." I began to wonder what their "debt" might be. For Regina, she gives back because she was given a second chance at a full life out of the constrains of a wheel chair or walker. The cats and kittens keep her going and give her purpose. Her debt is to the sick little kitten who cries out in pain in the middle of the night for giving her a reason to climb out of bed in the morning. It's beautiful.

In working with Purrfect Friends I can say this attitude has rubbed off on me. Dogs and cats are unable to care for themselves or speak when something is wrong. For the most part, they blindly trust us to provide for them whether or not we know how, and they can feel when we've wronged them but sometimes even that doesn't affect how much they love us. Seeing these women toiling endlessly made we want to step up and help get the message out that animals are not unfeeling creatures that deserve to be abused or tested upon. As unethical as it is to starve a human to death, it is the same amount or more morally irresponsible to do this to a helpless animal.

Now, I said before that I didn’t look at any theories or principles before beginning this volunteer experience, but afterwards it was definitely interesting to read through others’ experiences and see the parallels. I didn’t feel as bad when I saw that a lot of service events begin as repaying a debt and either evolve into a passion or don’t. Either way skills are learned, and a service is done. For me, a passion clearly developed with learning how to care for a kitten removed from its mother before being weaned, how to use home remedies rather than veterinary medicine, and getting the resources to pay for food and shelter for the felines. I developed a passion for generosity looking at these creatures that could hardly open their eyes, but purred and butted their tiny heads into my hands for love. All they can give me is love, but I want to give each one the world just for that, and I will continue to do so.

I can feel good knowing I'm needed and am a resource to help at least these felines be kept in the style in which they deserve. I will continue to lend a hand at Purrfect Friends, other animal shelters in the area, and to be an advocate for animal rights movements because of my volunteering experience and the skills and perspectives I've gained through it.