Saturday, November 16, 2013

First Post

First Post

Blake
My experience with CARE so far for the month of September has been outstanding! I have achieved so much in so little time already. I helped keep the shelter clean and walked dogs making their time at CARE much more enjoyable. I have experienced what it is like to help out at a not for profit organization. I love the feeling that I receive when i volunteer at CARE. I feel like I am making a difference. There have not been any challenges with volunteering so far. It has been very good. CARE relies entirely on donations. Our group provided shredded newspaper for the dogs to use at night-time.

Mitch
This past month of helping at the animal shelter for Castaway Animal Rescue Effort has been a tremendous learning experience. At the start of it all, I thought I knew what the purpose of an animal shelter was. I would have said it was a place to keep pets that do not  have owners and will hopefully be adopted by families that will care for them. Now that I am more familiar with the going-ons I look at these organizations in a much different light. On every visit to the shelter I get to observe or experience a new method to improve the lives of these animals in need. The dedicated staff at the Springfield and Ozark locations do so much for the dogs and cats, but they would not be able to provided the same level of service without us and the other devoted volunteers. This is why I am so glad CARE would allow us to give our time to such a great organization.
Logan 
In my first time volunteering at he Castaway Animal Rescue Effort shelter, I know that my group had made the right decision in choosing our Summit Project. I knew that many groups in the past had also chosen CARE as their project as well and upon completing my first experience at the shelter, I knew why. CARE is a no kill animal shelter that functions completely off of donations and volunteers. There was always something for my roommates and myself to help out with and kept us busy throughout the whole time. It was unbelievable how many dogs and cats did not have homes or loving families to live with especially since everyone of them wanted to give love right back. I received my first battle scar that day when I was taking one of the dogs out of a high cage when a stray toe nail somehow ended up in my mouth giving me a fat lip. That same dog ended up being, and still is, my favorite dog I have met yet. The hardest part about volunteering is leaving the animals at the shelter. It is always hard leaving a friend behind especially when they have no home. I feel great every time I visit the shelter and do not mind doing any task that is asked of me. Again, I am glad that we chose CARE and cannot wait to see what the future holds.
Jamen
My first time at CARE was about what I expected. I helped clean out cages, walked the dogs, and fed and watered them. Although it was about what I expected on the work end of things I didn’t really realize just how much the volunteers mean to CARE. If we weren’t there then the jobs would be a lot more demanding and the shelter wouldn’t be able to function. Another thing I was surprised at was just how little room the Springfield location had to walk the animals and play with them. I felt terrible for the dogs when I could only take them on this small patch of grass in a parking lot. My first time at CARE and I made a few new friends. Leo was the most awesome dog ever and I really wish that I could have taken him home with us. This will be one of the hardest parts for me at least is knowing that I really can’t take all of these animals home and take care of them. This shelter does amazing work, and I feel like this is going to be a good experience for me because I will be helping a shelter that really needs it along with making a lot of new friends (the animals) along the way. I am looking forward to the rest of the semester working with this shelter and learning more about myself along the way.

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