Volunteer Spotlight

Morning Volunteer of the Year- Dena Buchanan

Also known as “Aunt Dena” to all the cats, Dena helps out at the shelter three times a week to clean adoption rooms. She arrives at 10:00 and stays for hours to help maintain them. She deep cleans every room, even getting on her hands and knees to clean the floors, the walls and in and around the baseboards. Her eye for detail is amazing! She checks the litter boxes and litter pails in every room for “litter levels” and refills as needed.  She notices when the brooms in each room could use trimming and does them all herself.  And, she actually loves to haul the green wagon of trash out to the dumpster!  This is all very hard, physical work and Dena does it all with a smile and of her own initiative. What’s more, Dena does not drive. When the weather is foul, she arranges for a ride and when the weather turns nice, she takes her bike on the bus and then, she rides her bike the rest of the way to the shelter. Her obvious love of the cats, the staff and our shelter as a whole is evident and we are truly lucky to have her as a volunteer.

Afternoon Volunteer of the Year- Jordan Moddelmog

We have been so fortunate to have Jordan on board as a student intern from Boise High School. Jordan volunteers at the shelter on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and has become truly indispensible. She photographs all the cats at the shelter for the adoption room biographies and website, creates all of the volunteer name badges and assembles all volunteer program related materials. She also creates and maintains most of the signage seen throughout the shelter and fills in at reception working the phones, greeting customers and handling retail purchases and Food Bank donations when asked. On top of all of this, Jordan is our organizer extraordinaire! She has assisted with many major overhaul projects at the shelter and is currently working on our next big fundraiser- our annual Yard Sale being held in May. She is agreeable to everything the staff asks her to do, has a great laugh and is really hard working. This list is truly just the beginning in terms of all the ways in which Jordan shines at Simply Cats. She likes to say how much she loves volunteering with us and we love having her here just as much!

Special Projects Volunteer of the Year- Lynn Melton

What can we say about Lynn Melton?  Lynn has been involved in every aspect of the shelter since she began volunteering over two years ago. She has cleaned adoption rooms, has worked behind reception and had acted as “adoption counselor” to customers looking for the right match. Lynn is quite crafty too! She spruced up the Success Stories board and created our very pretty Cat of the Month easel. A year ago, she took over the maintenance and administration of the cat Sponsorship program- which is very time consuming.- a full time job in itself! Most recently, she was foster mom to a mama cat with 6 kittens (and ended up adopting two!) She also has a fantastic sense of humor and a great smile. As you can see, it has been a very active year for Lynn at Simply Cats. We cannot thank her enough for her time and dedication.

Of course, we are fortunate to have so many amazing volunteers. Each month, Volunteer Spotlight will profile one who makes a difference!

September Volunteer of the Month- Byron Farnes

We are so lucky to have Byron as a volunteer. Since Byron started in January 2010, he has made a major positive impact on the shelter. Whether he is hauling heavy bags of litter, cleaning a mountain of cat carriers or helping out the team with a random project, Byron is always happy to help and is always in a good mood. He was an integral part of our annual Yard Sale fundraiser this year, helping to set up tables, carry heavy boxes of merchandise and driving around the neighborhood hanging signs. If that’s not all, Byron is also a hobby baker and has volunteered his talents in the kitchen! He baked a whole cheesecake as a raffle prize for our Catsino Night event (not to mention attending the event with his wife) and baked delicious treats for us to sell at the Yard Sale.  He also brings tasty tidbits for the staff to enjoy too! I mean, what’s not to love about this guy?! Thanks, Byron. We really appreciate you!