Volunteer Fair Fun
Today we attended the Volunteer Fair at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora. We knew we would meet a lot of great people, but the outpouring of support and community spirit exceeded our expectations. We want to share the major takeaways here.
We know that our community is in desperate need of spay and neuter services, and our experience today really hammered that home. Dozens of people came up to our table saying, “I really need to get my cat spayed. Can you help me?” We can’t wait until we can reply “YES!” Representatives from various animal rescues also stopped by to tell us they are dying for a service like this that they can patronize. Affordable and accessible alternations for cats and dogs is the bottleneck in rescue and population control efforts, and there can be no doubt after a day like today.
All types of people signed up to receive our newsletter and volunteer. It was so encouraging to be in a room full of people whose sole motivation is to serve our community. Special shout out to our youngest volunteer, a 15 year old high school student who was there simply because she wanted to give back. The next generation is getting started early, and we’re thrilled to get her involved with our team.
Two women from the Lyon’s Club dropped by to let us know that they partner with Meals on Wheels to deliver cat and dog food. They heard that some meal recipients were only eating a portion of their meals so that they could give the rest to their pets. People like this are exactly who we hope to serve: those who care for their pets enough to do what’s right even when it’s not easy. We were so grateful to learn about the efforts of the Lyon’s Club to care for our human and furry community members, and we have made their information available on our Services Page.
We also had 3 Siamese foster kittens help us recruit. They camped out on our table and soaked up scratches and pets from everyone who walked by. They really helped draw lots of people to our table, and while those visitors were getting their kitten fix, we could fill them in about why babies like these really need our help. We especially got lots of children stopping by to pet kittens and learn about how to help them. It was a great way to bring some extra fun to the day.
