Volunteer Appreciation Week 2024

This year for National Volunteer Appreciation week, we kicked off a weeklong celebration highlighting just a few of our many incredible volunteers! We are so thankful for the endless compassion, support, and dedication we receive from every one of our volunteers on a daily basis. This week, we want to express our unwavering gratitude to each and every volunteer who has contributed their time in our programs, furthering our mission to advocate for animals, individuals, and communities in need. Whether it’s working with our Sanctuary pet guests, providing support with community outreach events, or taking a variety of phone calls from our Helpline, our volunteers are undeniably the soul of Our Companions and our mission in animal welfare. 

For National Volunteer Appreciation Week, we are taking a moment to shine a light on a few of our volunteers who have dedicated their time, energy, and advocacy to help the lives of animals within OC and throughout our State.

We started with our Canine Sanctuary volunteers! Canine Sanctuary volunteers play a pivotal role in creating a loving, enriching, social, and safe environment for our Sanctuary dog guests, which not only aids in the physical and mental health of our dogs but also helps them get adopted into forever homes!

We then highlighted some of our Helpline Volunteers, who play a crucial role in supporting OC’s programs, projects, and outreach efforts. The Helpline serves as the backbone of our organization, offering services such as animal behavioral support, community cat trap-neuter-return (TNR) assistance, adoption guidance, pet food and supply aid, and resources for veterinary care needs. With nearly 4,000 calls annually, our Helpline is a vital lifeline, made possible by the dedication of our Helpline Heroes! We are grateful for the time our volunteers take to address complex Helpline calls, while also being able to offer advice, resources, and experience to help navigate hurdles, answer questions, and empower callers with solutions.

We showcased a couple of our dedicated Grounds Maintenance volunteers! These volunteers play a vital role in keeping the outdoor areas of the Sanctuary in top shape. Over the past 20+ years, our Sanctuary property has undergone significant transformation, boasting designated trails through the forest for our Canine guests, fenced play yards, charming garden features, and lush greenery surrounding our cottages. The commitment of these volunteers goes beyond logistical support for safety and upkeep; they infuse life and beauty into our Sanctuary, ensuring it remains a welcoming and vibrant environment for all!

We gave a shout out to some of our Feline Sanctuary volunteers! Our Feline Sanctuary volunteers help maintain a clean, safe environment for our guests, while also attending to each cat’s individual needs. Whether it’s socializing shy cats or engaging with high-energy ones, our volunteers do it all! Their efforts not only enhance the quality of life for our guests but also assist in finding them forever homes. By getting to know each cat—understanding their preferences, behaviors, and personalities—our volunteers help facilitate successful adoptions and lasting bonds.

With the opening of our third cat cottage last year, we’ve been able to provide a safe space for more cats than ever before! We could not grow our mission, nor our cottages, without the wonderful and caring help of our Feline Sanctuary volunteers.

We also wanted to highlight a couple of our Office and Administration volunteers who keep the world of OC turning! With our variety of programs, our Office Admin volunteers play a crucial role in data collection, organization, donor outreach, and record keeping just to name a few! Often working in the background, these volunteers embody the spirit of service and dedication, helping our day-to-day operations run smoothly and efficiently by lending us their technical and organizational skills. With the growth of OC and with the ever changing and improving technology, our Office Admin volunteers ensure our organization stays up to date and organized. Being a “voice for the voiceless” requires a lot of computer work too!  

We also thanked some of our Helpline volunteers who address Adoption and Rehoming calls for Dogs, Cats, and Small Animals. Our Adoption Caseworkers are at the forefront of matching pets with their perfect families. They handle adoption inquiries, meticulously screen applications, and coordinate Meet and Greets to ensure successful matches. Beyond the adoption process, these volunteers maintain ongoing communication with adopted pets and their new families, offering support and guidance throughout the crucial first year of adoption. Similarly, our Rehoming volunteers step in to assist individuals facing challenging circumstances in finding new homes for their pets or rescued animals. With empathy and resourcefulness, they provide a lifeline to those navigating difficult decisions. Whether offering guidance to help pets remain in their current homes or facilitating the rehoming process, these volunteers offer invaluable support every step of the way. Our Helpline Heroes provide resources, education, hope and healing to pets and pet guardians in countless ways ever day of the year!

We shined the spotlight on some of our Canine College volunteers! Our Canine College program consists of a variety of volunteers who assist and instruct our rewards-based, positive reinforcement dog training classes at the Valerie Freedman Program Center in Manchester, CT. These dedicated volunteers show commitment to learning new professional skills and advancing their education, and are equally passionate about enhancing the lives and relationships of pet guardians and their dogs. It is not lost on us that our Canine College volunteers donate a tremendous amount of their time to helping the community at large, family households, and our furry pet companions.

Our Canine College volunteers not only show unwavering support but also lend their own creativity, logic, and professional skills to create new, fun ways to engage clients and their pet companions. These volunteers truly are the heart of our dog training and behavior programs, and allow us to help not only owned pets but also Re-homing clients, our Sanctuary canine guests, and dogs in municipal shelters through our Adopt-A-Shelter program.

To all of our volunteers: Your time, commitment, compassion, and trust are invaluable contributions to not only our organization but to animal welfare and our communities at large. We are incredibly grateful for everything you do.