Monday, December 10, 2012

Still Going Strong


This semester has been a crazy one!  But the one constant was volunteering at CARE.  You could say the dogs made my busy week relaxing.  I’m already an animal person, but I have my preferences (Golden Retriever, Labradors and sometimes German Shepherds).  As an individual, I accomplished an open-mind to other breeds of dogs, and the ability not to take one home.  There was a Golden Retriever puppy there for at least three months, and it was hard for me not to take him home.  Luckily, he has been happily adopted!

Even though we volunteered separately, the group accomplished most of what we planned.  We even overcame a small conflict between us.  We also communicate important events, dates and messages via our white board that is conveniently set up in place where everyone can see it on a daily basis.  Some positive outcomes have been that some of the members in the group built their confidence with the other animals and that we are able to resolve our conflicts.

I believe that in the spring we should voice our main/important concerns and conflicts before they build up, even if they seem small to someone else.  I look forward to seeing what else we can do to help CARE run.

~Deidre R. Hardy~

Pictures can be seen in the “pictures” tab

Looking back and looking forward

This semester, we have accomplished a lot as a group and individually. As a group, we have shown that we can successfully create our own service project and follow through with it. We were all able to complete our 15 hours of service, and each of us actually were able to do more than 15.

What I have learned: This semester, I have learned about all the hard work that it takes in order to run a non-profit organization like CARE so smoothly. I was amazed about how they operate completely off of donations from the community and with help from volunteers, with only about 3 or 4 actual staff members. I have also learned about how cruel people can be to animals, and simply not care about them, because we heard a lot of sad stories about how the animals ended up at the shelter. But I have also met many wonderful staff members and volunteers who do the very best they can for the animals, which is nice to see the passion that they have for their work.

Positive outcomes: For me, it was nice for me to get away from school life and focus on something other than myself for 2 hours each week. It's easy to get caught up in my homework and work, and I get so busy that I never stop to slow down and refocus. When I went to the shelter, I would forget about whatever I needed to do that night or any problems I was having and I would focus on the animals and taking care of them. Also, I became friends with a woman named Lori who I would always talk to while we walked the dogs, and it was really nice. Besides those things, of course a positive outcome was that I got to help alleviate some of the jobs that the people at the shelter needed to do, by contributing some extra help.

In the spring: I want to focus on volunteering even more hours than I did this semester (21.75), which I should be able to do because this semester had a lot of breaks. I also want to help with more mobile adoptions when I can, and help bring awareness about CARE to the Drury community. We could do this by having a clothing drive for the thrift store, or by doing another event such as bringing dogs to Drury so everyone can get a chance to interact with them!

I am looking forward to next semester!

Cathy

(P.S. Photos can be found on the "Pictures" tab)

Sunday, December 9, 2012

A Puppy and Kitten Filled Semester = A Pretty Darn Good One!

Over the past four months each member in my group has set out to experience new things, volunteer at a new place and interact with new people. As a whole we have discussed and feel as though we have not really had a chance to grow as a group - via volunteering - since we all go at different times. We have, however, crossed some major milestones in living together and that in itself is HUGE!
Making adjustments no matter how big or small can be, simply put, a pain in the butt! As busy college students we all thrive on routine and moving in with a new group of girls - even knowing them prior - is anything but routine. We have definitely overcome the small things such as laundry schedules and maintaining a good volume level when others are studying and /or sleeping.As far as issues arising, the biggest one would have to be the cleaning schedule and maintaining open communication. As a group we have set together numerous times and expressed our feelings, thoughts, and ideas. We have always managed to come up on common ground and find a solution and that is such a great feeling!
Next semester we plan to do more volunteering and activities together instead of independently.
We plan to do the following:
*Volunteer in pairs - possibly even switching now and then to get everyone interacting more
*Organize a clothing drive for the CARE thrift store
*Organize a penny drive
We have so many ideas in the works and we have decided, after gaining a better understanding of what we are doing, that we can do more with our time and resources than what we did this past . It just took some time to really get comfortable and confident in what we were doing.
Individually I would say I have definitely stepped up my responsibility. I juggle three jobs and 20 credit hours here at Drury University and yet I still love the hour and a half a week I get to donate to CARE and spend with the animals. To do this I sacrifice my Friday mornings and DO NOT get to sleep in - for a college student to give up sleep willingly, they must really like what they are doing! I have made new friends and taken on new responsibilities. Most importantly, I am still working on visualizing the future and what I would like to do. My group and I have set goals for next semester and we are not even there yet. I feel as though sometimes it is hard to say just what you will do without being there in the moment. It is a pretty amazing feeling to set your mind to things - things that you do voluntarily - and watch yourself accomplish them.
The four of us have grown so much since August and I am looking forward to the next semester to begin. We may not be changing the world on a large scale but we are changing the lives of individual animals and other volunteers and making an impact that is HUGE to them and that is all we can really ask for. That is all we need to have job well done.

(Pictures are located in the picture section if you want to see what we have been up to with our little furry friends! Please check them out! )

Kay

Accomplishing So Much More than I Thought I Would!



Volunteering at C.A.R.E. this semester has been a great, eye-opening experience.  Before I started volunteering at C.A.R.E., I had the initial expectation that I was going to be walking dogs, feeding animals, and cleaning.  At C.A.R.E., I do these things, but through volunteering, I have learned and gained many things beyond those simple tasks. 


The heart breaking stories and places where the animals come from has helped me to gain a greater appreciation for those who fight animal cruelty, and even for my own pets at home.  Each animal that comes through C.A.R.E. has its own story, and each one is more surprising than the last.  I hope throughout life that I will take this greater appreciation with me and help others understand and have that same feeling


Also through volunteering at C.A.R.E., I have become more confident when working with animals.  Larger dogs scare me, and my first few weeks at the shelter were tough when having to walk the bigger dogs.  However, through continued practice and time I have gained more confidence when working with the larger dogs and even the smaller dogs.   Even despite claw scratchings from a few cats, I still have developed a better confidence when working with all of the animals. 


I think the largest accomplishment my group has made is not bringing home any animals with us.  Seeing new faces every week comes along with a round of “Can we take it home?”  to which we always have to say no.  However, I think each of us have become comfortable with the shelter and we know what tasks we have to accomplish and the best way to complete them.  The first few weeks of volunteering at the shelter required asking lots of questions and being shown how to do things.  But now we each have mastered the best ways to complete the tasks at the shelter and as soon as we get there, we can immediately know what to do and can be more time effective in getting the jobs done.  This allows more time to play with and get to know the animals better.


In the coming semester, we are planning to have more campus involved activities such as possibly having a clothing drive, a penny war, and even bring dogs to campus during finals.  We are hoping that because we have gotten more comfortable and confident when volunteering at the shelter, that we can focus more on promoting and creating events on Drury’s campus.  I am very excited to see what the next semester has in store for me and our group when volunteering at C.A.R.E., and I can’t wait.


-Caitlin Lauer