Cat ranch needs volunteers working on their schedules

By Lethbridge Herald on April 22, 2022.

Editor:

The modified stop order mentioned in this article is referring to the number of volunteers LCCR is now allowed to have on site . The original order stated we were allowed two volunteers in a day. The modified order allows us nine volunteers in a day but limited to three volunteers at a time. We most certainly are grateful for the increase in the number of volunteers and thank the board for this. Any infraction of this restriction will results in hefty fines. Money which LCCR does not have. 

I am the volunteer co-ordinator in charge of scheduling. We volunteers come in many shapes and sizes. Some of us are retired; actually less than 10 per cent of us are retired. Some of us have full-time jobs. Some of us have two jobs. 

Some of us are university students. Some of us are university students who also are holding down jobs.

Some of us are grandmas who bring our grandchildren so as to pass on the values to be learned in helping the less fortunate. Some of us are spouses who, instead of eating out on ”date night,” come to help the vulnerable cats in our care. Some of us are mothers and daughters who chose to bond over a common interest. Some of us are mothers and sons who chose to bond over a common interest. 

Some of us are dating partners who strengthen our relationship by bonding over a common interest. Some of us have volunteered so long together that we are able to work together without deciding who does what task. Some of us are people who started out out as volunteers and have now become friends.

How are the new restrictions affecting our volunteering dynamics? I will give you an example. Generally we schedule one person in the sanctuary and two, if not three people, in the house. The number varies according to the number of cats and the level of sickness of our cats, which determines the amount of care required. On Saturday morning, we have a grandmother and granddaughter who volunteer every Saturday morning in the sanctuary. I have no doubt that the granddaughter could manage the sanctuary on her own but she is only 14 and is not allowed to work without adult supervision. Plus she needs her grandma to drive her.

At the same time, we have two volunteers working in the house who are able to work together so well that a third person is not needed to be scheduled.

 So who do I tell not to come? I guess the logical answer is the granddaughter, but if I was the grandmother I would quit coming as well and look for another opportunity to bond with my granddaughter. 

Do I tell one of the volunteers in The House to not come at the same time as the other volunteer and wait until the grandma and granddaughter have left the premises before she comes to help the remaining volunteer? 

At the hearing we were asked how many volunteers in a day we needed. We replied, quite clearly, I thought, that it was not the number of volunteers that we needed but the number of volunteer hours we needed. Because most of us have jobs we cannot volunteer for maybe more than one hour at any given time, but three volunteers at one hour each can accomplish so much more. We have volunteers who come to LCCR immediately after working a full day at their job. It is unfair to expect them to volunteer three hours before going home. 

We have some volunteers who come volunteer after working a night shift before they go home to get much needed sleep. 

I do not know how this restriction was arrived at and the board is not required to tell us. I wish that even one member of the board would come to LCCR and observe us at our tasks to get a clearer idea of what is involved.

Nancy Giles

Lethbridge