So, when Dave and I recently had a conversation with our financial advisor, and he was talking about how he and his wife have taught their children from the beginning about the principle of giving, it perked up my need to look into a cause. His example was simple. When their kids get allowance, they are required to split the money into three categories: spend, save, and give. This was also coupled with another conversation I had recently about a friend who requires her child to pick a volunteer project both during the school year and over the summer. I did some volunteer work in school and always found it rewarding, but as an adult, I've honestly found a hard time finding the right opportunity with an organization that was willing to take advantage of the time I was offering. After having a few of these inspiring conversations, I decided to give it another go and tried again by exploring some options on the web site volunteermatch.org. I had heard good things about the site, and after some searching, I came upon on opportunity with a local humane society that looked like it might be just perfect for me. I did my research, reached out for more information, filled out an application, and after a couple of weeks and a background check, I was selected to move forward to their training program and start volunteering. Yea!
What I like most about this organization already is that they rely heavily on volunteers. They are very organized in their training, scheduling and how they care for these dogs. They are also a private organization, which means they are privately funded based on a true love of dogs. This fits all of my personal criteria and seems to be a good fit in that they actually want to take my offer of time and greatly appreciate it. I've already had my first training session, with a mentoring session set up this week and then a little more training over the weekend. After that, I'm all set to do walking shifts, vet transportation and adoption counseling on nights or weekends that fit into my schedule.
An urgent opportunity arose last night where a momma and her three, 3-week old infants had been rescued in Gooding, ID and needed to be transported back to the Boise area to be placed in a foster home until they can be adopted. The shelter needed someone to step in and make an almost 4-hour round trip drive. Dave and I were able to help, and we drove this sweet girl back to town to her new foster mom last night. What a rewarding experience. And man, what a shout out to Dave for helping out when this wasn't his idea. :)
I'll get to work my first shift as an adoption counselor this weekend, and I've been told the experience is so rewarding, as we get to help these sweethearts find their forever homes. I'm really looking forward to that, as well as spending time doing something meaningful outside of my Game of Thrones binging. So, fine, I'm almost all caught up on GoT, but you get the idea.
And when I'm not helping these new doggies in my life, I'm still catering to this crazy head and her bone addiction.
Check out www.volunteermatch.org if you are interested in finding some volunteer opportunities in your area. And, please please please, adopt - don't shop.
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