Volunesia (n): That moment when you forget you're volunteering to help change lives, because it's changing yours."

I once read that everything you hear about volunteering is cliché, but every inspirational quote is true. Volunteers are priceless, they have heart, and what they do does make a difference.

The SPCA of Northern Nevada was founded in 1998 by volunteers and still today they continue to be the heartbeat of our mission and our lifesaving work. I myself have only been Volunteer Manager of the SPCA of Northern Nevada for two short years and the human beings I have met here and their unyielding passion for helping homeless pets astounds me every day.

Our organization was founded in 1998 by volunteers and still today they continue to be the heartbeat of our mission and our lifesaving work.

We have volunteers that have served for over a decade, they have seen many of ‘me’s come and go, and yet they stay. Their loyalty is not to one human being, one manager, but to the animals. They believe in the mission of this organization and they have stuck with us for years because they know their work matters and they love what they do.

One of my favorite cliché quotes is “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” We live in a 24/7 society, many work 40+ hours, volunteer for other organizations, take care of children, pets of their own, and yet they still make time for our organization.

Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.

- Elizabeth Andrew

They sort through donations at the Thrift Store to get them ready for sale, take dogs for a much-needed walk, give cats the snuggles they desperately crave (but will never admit they want), get dirty to help with animal care chores, lug our marketing bag across town to spread the word about our organization, temporarily open their home to an animal in need, and work their customer service skills and provide low-cost vaccinations to pets in our community. The need is endless but thankfully, so is the help!

In 2019, our volunteers contributed over 40,000 service hours, allowed us to put 570 pets in foster homes, helped us get over 2,100 animals adopted, aided in keeping over 8,000 cats and dogs in our community healthy with low cost vaccinations, and were there for us for every little thing in between.

In 2019, our volunteers contributed over 40,000 service hours.

Even now, during this time of doubt, our volunteers are here for us, our animals, and our organization. They cannot wait to get back into the lifesaving game 110% and we can’t either!

Until then, I want our volunteers to know how truly thankful, proud, grateful, and honored we are to have them on our team because they are the wind beneath our wings (too cliché? Never).

-Nayla Garcia, Community Outreach and Volunteer Manager

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