Mobile Adoption

Today, Caitlin and I went to Petsmart to help with one of CARE's mobile adoptions! Kendall, Thad, Jacob, and Rudy were the cats that were there. June Bug, almost got adopted by a family and we were so excited for her! They said they will come to the shelter on Wednesday and get her if she is still there. Nemo, Bruno, and Molly also generated quite a bit of interest. Three other dogs got adopted and it was so nice to see them go to good homes!

It was a great day!

Cathy

My Reflections

Reflect on why you chose to participate in Summit Park Leadership Community along with the experiences you hope to gain. Also, think about how you see this impacting your life.   You should be up and running at your sites so discuss how that is going and what struggles or successes you are having during this time and based on your leadership/personality style (the one identified during the first class), how you are responding.  Post who your community partner is and share their basic mission and provide a link to their website.  It is a chance for you to let others know what your group is doing and how the experience is impacting you personally. 

I first learned about Summit through a group of friends who were involved in it last year.  I thought it was really cool how they could volunteer and live in the Summit apartments.  After learning about it through them and seeing what the inside of the apartments looked like, I definitely knew I wanted to possibly try and do it my sophomore year.  I then got my suitemate Cathy on board to do it, and then she got Kayla, and Kayla got Deidre.  I was nervous about living with two other girls who I didn't know very well, but I was also excited for the new experience.  I hope that living with new people and in a new environment will help me learn how to work well with others, but also make new memories and friendships.

I see volunteering at C.A.R.E. as impacting my life in many different ways.  I currently have 2 dogs and 1 cat at home, and through volunteering at C.A.R.E I hope to gain an even greater appreciation for animals and making sure that they are treated well.  The neglect that animals can encounter by humanity is astonishing, and working with C.A.R.E. can help me learn about it and become more of an activist for animal rights.  Also, I think through volunteering with C.A.R.E. I will have more motivation to volunteer for other opportunities.  Volunteering is something that I wanted to actively be involved in when I came to college, and C.A.R.E. is a great way to start that.

In class, I determined my leadership style was gold.  I definitely want things to have order and be done in a certain manner.  My first struggle in volunteering at C.A.R.E. was volunteering in the afternoon.  In the afternoon, there is not a lot that needs to be done at the shelter except for playing with animals and cleaning up a few things.  This is a struggle for me because I want to always feel useful, and that I am working to the best of my capabilities.  However, this is also good for me to experience because it shows me that I do not always have to be working hard in order to be helpful.  The ultimate goal is to make sure the animals are cared for, and that includes emotional health as well.  

Overall, I am very excited for what this year has in store!  I have already wanted to take home some of the dogs and cats that are at C.A.R.E.  I hope this experience gives me new perspective on animal care and it will allow me to learn and work with new people and friends.

-Caitlin

Looking Ahead...

At first I had not really looked in to living in Summit, all I knew was that I wanted to live in an on-campus apartment.  My friend, Kayla, came to me and asked if I wanted to be roommates with her for our Sophomore year.  I said "sure" and I began looking at College Park and Jefferson Park.  Then one day Kayla came to me and said that she, along with Cathy and Caitlin, were going to be living in Summit.  I then proceeded to look into what Summit was about.  At first I was like "community service?  I've got this, since I help out at my church and other places."  When I found out that the service had to be a group effort, I was lost for ideas.  When Kayla told me about C.A.R.E and what we would be doing, I was all for it--since I'm an animal lover.

Some experiences I hope to gain, are bonds with the animals--as well as the other volunteers and workers at C.A.R.E.  I hope to see the good in animals shelters as well as the adoption opportunities offered to the public.  I have always been an animal lover and it is hard for me to watch an animal suffer and not be loved.  I have often viewed animal shelters like the ones "stereo-typically" shown on TV, as well as how they are perceived by the public.  By working with C.A.R.E, I hope to gain a better understanding on how shelters really work.

I have not began at the site yet, but I am starting on September 22nd, cause my schedule was busy;   knowing my personality, I believe that I will be able to adapt to whatever is going to be necessary.

---Deidre

Dear Drury, Please Change the Pet Policy

When I first learned about the Summit Park Leadership Community, I thought it sounded like a really interesting experience unique to Drury, an awesome chance to make a difference, and that it would sound great on my resume! Last year, I made some friends who lived in Summit Park but I did not know much about it, and it was not until my group and I began the application process that I fully understood the opportunity to make an impact in the Springfield community. Throughout the year, I hope to gain invaluable experiences about what it is like to design my own community service project with other members of my group, and how to make it successful.

At our first leadership class, I was identified (along with two of my other group members) as a Gold. Gold people are organized, dependable, determined, clear-cut, and to the point. However, this project gives us an extreme amount of freedom, so it is up to us to figure out how to use our time and resources wisely. A lot of the time, Golds would rather do something on their own and know they do it right, instead of work in a group. But this project is not individual; it's a team effort, and luckily we have a Blue to mediate the three Golds, if necessary :)

I have been to volunteer at the shelter twice now; I go on Wednesday afternoons. When I first get there, I have been walking the dogs, which can take between 30 minutes and an hour. The first week, I was a little nervous when Nemo was jumping all over the place, I wasn’t sure how to get the leashes around them when they were so excited, and Bruno nearly took me  on a walk! But the next time, I was more comfortable and I knew what to do a little better. Other than walking the dogs, so far I have helped clean cages, do some laundry, and play with the animals! Sometimes there are times when I don’t really know what to do, and as a Gold, a lot of times I like to know exactly what to do and how to do it. I have to take some initiative and determine what to do with my time and make sure it is helpful.

The hardest part about this project is seeing all the animals confined to cages and knowing that I can’t help. I can’t imagine being stuck in a cage for weeks and weeks, and some have been there for many months. It does make it easier though, to know that these animals will not be killed because they are lucky enough to be in a no-kill shelter. I just want to do anything I can to help them find loving homes. Also, I wish Drury allowed pets in the apartments. 

C.A.R.E.'s Mission: Rescue as many adoptable animals from "death row" as we can properly care for. Provide medical treatment to sick or injured stray animals. Combine an aggressive spay/neuter program with a high volume adoption program while providing quality lifetime care for unadopted pets. Network with and provide a rescue service for other shelters, ultimately reducing the kill-rate in Southwest Missouri.

Our community adviser is volunteer coordinator Yoko Williams. In case you haven’t found our links off to the side, CARE’s Webpage can be found here and be sure to “Like” them on Facebook.

Caitlin and I are going to help at a mobile adoption this Saturday, be sure to stop by Petsmart if you are interested!

-Cathy

Some of the BEST things come in small packages

Walking into this project I knew that making a difference for someone was a big deal. I initially had my heart set on Children’s Miracle Network. That quickly proved to be very difficult, time consuming and required a lot of last minute free time. The two of my other group members suggested continuing the C.A.R.E. partnership. We discussed how much success was made in the previous and decided it would be more beneficial to keep and build onto that partnership. Going into this project, I was very worried about not having the required time and energy. After just one volunteer opportunity I have found that it is hard to not have energy when you are in a place that it so energetic. It is impossible to not ‘want’ to spend a morning interacting with cats, dogs, and even rats! What could be better than being greeted by a smiling Lillian at your door? For those who do not know, Lillian is an extremely loving, energetic, and happy Rottweiler who has stolen my heart. This dog smiles! I don’t think it would be possible to change my mind about working with this group; there is just so much positivity and so much to gain – Self-control (To not bring all the animals home) being the biggest. Going in on my first day, I was a bit on the nervous side. I knew I would be working with the animals but I didn't know exactly what to expect; I didn’t want to be stuck in the back alone doing the work no one else wants to do. Upon my arrival I was shown around the facility again and then was asked to help another volunteer finish up cleaning out the cages. Normally, I would not be too enthused about this. Thankfully, the other volunteer helped and talked with me the whole time, not to mention a little kitten that had so much to say throughout the duration of my stay. The hardest part about volunteering with the C.A.R.E. animal shelter is, knowing I can’t help them all. I can advocate for each and every one but I have to understand that I cannot take them all home and I cannot hold myself directly responsible for those animals that will spend months in the shelter. I would definitely say the best part about volunteering with this organization is the interaction.  I love animals and it brightens my day to spend a morning playing and taking care of them and also to know that I am making a small difference in their day as well. After spending all night in a small cage, it has got to be the best feeling in the world to have someone come, take you out, play with you, and really show you some love. This is going to be a great learning opportunity for me and even thought at times it may be hard, it is going to be way more than worth it in the end. Some of the best things come in small packages; this is definitely one of those cases and I highly recommend anyone who reads this to look into a C.A.R.E. shelter and see if they could use some extra help. I promise, you will not regret it!

~Kay 

First Meeting

Kayla, Deidre, Caitlin, and I had our first meeting at the shelter together yesterday. We got there right when it opened at 10:00am, and met with the volunteer coordinator, Yoko. She gave us a tour of the facility and introduced us to some of the pets. Nemo was an excitable hound/retriever mix who had torn up his pillow in his cage and cotton was everywhere! It looked like it was snowing. Kayla got in a cage with Lillian the rottweiler, and Lillian loved the attention!

 

We each decided which days we will volunteer, and discussed helping at mobile adoptions. We are all very excited to begin this week!

Cathy