When did you first start to become involved in charitable work?

Sigh… another bizarre accusation tossed my way this week came from someone I’ve known for about five years, and who wanted to know why I only helped animals and not people.  It’s a stupid question, (surprise!), because about half of the time that I help animals I’m also helping a person.  When we fostered those two cats in March and April, it was so their families wouldn’t have to relinquish them to a shelter, and so their daughter wouldn’t have to lose her beloved pets.  When we adopted Missy Mae, it was so a woman with cancer could die in peace.  When we adopted Chelsea and Jackson, it was so a grieving daughter would know her dead mother’s cats wouldn’t have to be euthanized.  When we bottle fed Madison (and the late Miles), it was so the family who found them could stop worrying about killing them through lack of experience, and they looked forward to the day when they could take their new babies home after I’d weaned and socialized them.  We once spent a couple of weeks driving 20 miles to a casino on the outskirts of town to try to trap a stray cat for an elderly woman who wanted to adopt it.  Animal control was always trying to trap the cat as feral (and have it euthanized), and this 80 year old woman was in love with the cat and wanted to give it a good home.  The cat hated our trapping attempts, and they exhausted us, so believe me, I did this to make an old lady happy and not to make the cat happy.

Those examples aside, I find it rather obnoxious that someone who’s known me for just a few years would slap me with the “loves animals more than people” moniker.  (Well, I have to say that generally speaking, I do love animals more than people, and every day I’m given more and more reasons to feel that way.)  The truth is, I started doing charity work when I was 15 years old, and I helped the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in their fundraisers, and also made regular visits to kids my age who were hospitalized.  I have a nice letter of thanks from the CCFF for a special project I developed for them (I hooked up two performing artists I was friends with and together, they wrote and released a fundraising album), so maybe I’ll dig that up and post a pic of it to my Flickr album.  I also still have bunches of old letters from penpals who had CF.  The problem with working with teenage cystic fibrosis patients at that time was that they all died.  All of them.  I’d make a new friend, and in a few months, I’d be at a funeral.  I met my first adorable boyfriend through CCFF, and still remember my first kiss from him, when he leaned over and kissed me while we sat in his car.  I also remember attending his funeral a few years later. 

My work with cystic fibrosis gave me good preparation for when I moved to the United States at the height of the AIDs epidemic.  I personally provided home hospice care to three men who were in their dying months… all of them I’d known before their diagnosis.  They were my friends.  I learned how to flush pic lines with heparin and administer bronch treatments and I did a lot of wishing that time would slow down so a cure would be found.  Again, I went to a lot of funerals, some extra upsetting because the Catholic church was going through a period when they didn’t want gay men with AIDS to have their funeral mass in the church (at the very least, the Priest would refuse to perform it, and you’d be lucky to get a deacon). 

I can think of other work I’ve done only for the benefit of humans.  I started a nonprofit agency in New Mexico called “Albuquerque ABCs”, whose purpose was to provide free speech therapy services to under served (i.e. impoverished) families.  Going back about twenty years, just after I’d come out of the closet, I volunteered for a gay rights group and gave talks at Toronto high schools about how it felt to be gay and lesbian and not accepted, and how kids could make their closeted and uncloseted classmates feel safer and more welcomed.  It was the beginning of the era of teaching tolerance to school kids, and it was quite a lot of fun.

I dabbled in animal welfare issues back in Canada, when I owned my retail store where I sold bird supplies.  People often brought me injured wild birds, like doves and jays, and with the help of a vet I learned to patch them up, feed them back to health, and release them.  Some were raised from eggs and ended up as odd pets… I had a mourning dove and a sparrow as pets at one time.  I never got back into animal work again until over a decade had passed, and I was in San Francisco and had free time on my hands.  I’ve just come out of a biomedical program at University and loved medicine, but I wasn’t too sure I was thrilled with human patients (so many of whom cause their own problems).  I started to volunteer at the infirmary of the SFSPCA, and I was instantly hooked.  All I’ve ever wanted to do since that first day was animal rescue and rehab.  My sister is lucky in that she lives near a wildlife sanctuary, and she’s volunteered there often and learned to raise rabbits, deer, raccoons, and even bats (I’m so envious about the bats… I love bats!)  When we moved to Las Vegas we deliberately chose a spot on the outskirts of town, near a farm/bird sanctuary, but the setup is quite poor and volunteering is difficult.  When the vet started to send us more and more orphaned kittens and elderly cats who needed homes, I figured it was a sign I should just work with cats.  I’m happy I listened, because it’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.  Flippy and I have a lot of stress in our life because of health and financial issues, but every day the cats make us laugh a dozen times or more, and they all keep us up and active.

I saw my parents volunteering from the time I was born, so it seems only natural to me to do.  I’ve helped “Mommy bloggers” by designing their websites for free, I’ve helped raise funds to pay medical expenses for people without healthcare.  I do what I’m able to do with the energy I have and the skills I’ve developed.  In contrast, my parents have been delivering Wheels on Meals to the elderly for years (and they always bring along pet food if they know the person has a pet), and my Mom used to belong to a Canadian group which provided in-home services to elderly and disabled people (services like meal preparation, doing the laundry, washing floors, etc.).  My parents’ life is dominated by volunteer work within their community—they make newcomers to the area feel welcomed, they organize day trips for the retirees… they keep busy.  I’m really proud of how my parents and family members have given back so much.  I think we’d all feel really empty if we weren’t giving of our time in some way or form.

So, what’s your personal experience with volunteer work?  When did you start?  Were you influenced by your family?  Which experience have you enjoyed the most?  My “dream charity” is one where I help senior citizens keep pets by taking care of all the grooming/feeding/veterinary expenses and visits, so the pet owner only has to enjoy the company of their pet without worrying about what will happen if an emergency arises.  If the pet owner had to be hospitalized, my charity would foster the pet until the owner returned home, and if that didn’t happen, would guarantee to find a new, loving home for the animal.  I’m still a long way from getting to a point where I can build a charity like this, but it will happen one day.  I’ve made such great contacts just through Wee Paws that the help and support will be there, once I’m settled in a spot where I want to stay.  Please share your volunteering experiences and ideas!

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 05/21 at 09:09 AM

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  1. I truly like your idea to start a service for seniors and their pets.  I got Luigi because his owner passed away and no one in the family was in a position to take him.  There are lots of situations like that and the animal ends up at the shelter - which is probably the exact opposite of the deceased wishes for them.  It would surely bring peace of mind to older people to know that their friends would be well taken care of when they die.

    Posted by Neecy  on  05/21  at  05:11 PM

  2. My experience with charity began in college….volunteering with special olympics.  From there, I did work with Campus Ministry on several different projects.  Later on, I did some hospice work.  Afer I had more work experience under my belt, I served on a board for a mental health agency.  And most recently I did/do some work with my friend’s agency that services GLBT youth.

    I find that since I’ve gone back into direct teaching, I don’t tend to do as much hands-on volunteer work.  Generally my work is so mentally and emotionally exhausting I find I have little left to give at the end of the day.  I do some occasional things, but not nearly as much as I did when I was younger.

    I do greatly admire what you do with the pets.  I think it’s only if you’ve ever provided any kind of “round the clock” care for someone/thing that you know what it’s like to truly give of yourself to help another.  It’s exhausting work….but certainly has it’s moments of grand fullfillment.  Never doubt the impact of what you do and how important it is.

    Posted by Kate  on  05/21  at  09:08 PM

  3. First, let me say that you shouldn’t have to defend yourself against critics with weird questions. You’re right that there are plenty of reasons to prefer animals to humans. Anyway…

    My parents definitely influenced my decision to volunteer. I wrote the following on my blog some time ago:

    As a kid I would occasionally sort non-perishables with my parents for the local food bank. When I was an adolescent my dad and I delivered hot lunches for Meals On Wheels. I spent a couple of years working with a theatre group on a dramatic production introducing our school board’s new multicultural policy to staff and students. For a few months after high school I took care of routine correspondence for Greenpeace. During university I volunteered for an organization that sent students to visit so-called “shut-ins.” Shortly after graduating I was fortunate enough to land an advanced-level volunteer position with a large social service agency. The work involved researching, writing, and presenting difficult material in a sensitive manner. I loved that volunteer position so much that I held on to it with all my might for a decade.

    Posted by Calamity Jen  on  05/21  at  10:00 PM

  4. I was heavily involved in Scouts as a child, and my parents still are. I started volunteering then. That year I worked in the shelter was a very hard and yet rewarding year. Most of my volunteering is in the SCA now, and knitting for other people. I still try to make catnip toys or cat blankets though for pet shelters. I would rather work with animals - they tend to be more grateful.

    Posted by Georg  on  05/23  at  05:56 AM

  5. Wow, Leigh-Ann.  I’m moved.  You’ve done so much good with your life!  I feel like Jack Nicholson in that movie: “You make me want to be a better man”- or person, I should say.  I think my parents’ example to me wasn’t so much about volunteerism (although they did do meals on wheels when Dad retired) as being kind to people around us.  But I didn’t do a whole lot of self-sacrificing for the greater good - certainly not in my adolescence.  In college, I joined a mission trip to Haiti, where I worked in a clinic for eight days, but I did it as much for my own adventure as any more altruistic reason.  Years later, in Athens, I did Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic for over a year, but I couldn’t keep up the schedule.  Then, the best volunteering experience I had was with Project Safe, the battered women’s shelter, about ten years ago.  I discovered that one of my students was being abused by her husband, and I helped her get into the shelter.  They didn’t have any Spanish-speaking staff, so I went there almost every day while she and her kids were there to help out.  (We became good friends through that experience, and she is now one of my closest friends.)  After that, Project Safe would call me pretty often when they had Spanish-speaking residents, and I would interpret.  I really, really enjoyed that involvement.  It changed my life for the better.  Since I had Anthony, though, I have hardly volunteered there.  Fortunately, they now have a much larger pool of bilingual volunteers to call.  Since then, it’s just been little things here and there.  Nothing organized or regular.  I have a fantasy about a dental education program for families with small kids, some kind of charity or program that would help pay for regular exams and classes on dental health.  I’ve met so many kids, though work, with rotten teeth, and I’d love to help parents with education about baby bottle mouth and the effects of acids and sugars on teeth.  So far, just a fantasy, though.

    Posted by Nancy  on  05/23  at  11:30 AM

  6. I’m so impressed and humbled. I haven’t committed to charity work, but I have tried to teach my son tolerance and respect for others. For 2 summers in a row, his “daycare” was a school district program that has teens spend half their day doing volunteer/charity work and half recreation, with a special all day recreation trip on Fridays. They helped stock a food pantry, weeded the pantry gardens, groomed horses at a stable with riding programs for the handicapped, etc., etc. It was great experience for him.

    Also, in 4th and 5th grade, one of his teachers was involved with the Dane County Humane Society and worked “Humane Education” into the curriculum. The kids visited DCHS to walk dogs, pet kitties, and learn responsible pet ownership. They had a special guinea pig in the classroom who once SHOUTED at the kids to share their carrot sticks with her ;-)

    We are heavily involved in model railroading and do a lot of (dis)playing at train shows. It’s a volunteer organization, but not really service.

    Something else I wanted to add… there was a study that found more people will stop a car when they see ducks or geese crossing the street than people crossing the street. That result doesn’t surprise me for the simple reason that people should know better; the ducks/geese/squirrels/cats/dogs don’t.

    Posted by Tabbymom Jen  on  05/23  at  12:06 PM

  7. You guys are all such great examples (and I’m not surprised)!  Nancy, I’ve been trying to do reading for the blind for DECADES and I’ve never figured out how to get involved.  I’ve written to numerous groups, even offered to set up my own digital recording studio here at home, and have never had a response to my offer.  After working 13 years reading/producing for radio, I’d get a kick out of being able to make daily recordings of local newspapers or magazines or things like that. It’s also a type of volunteer work which can theoretically be done from home, so I hope one day I’ll figure out how to get my foot in the door.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  05/25  at  12:57 PM
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