Thanksgiving is the Right Moment to Thank Volunteers

Yes, there is something very wrong at the core of many people but there is also something very right with those who give of themselves so freely, so generously, and without any agenda other than the clear desire to help save the lives of animals who cannot help themselves.
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Probably like every one of you, I watch the news of late and wonder many things. Mostly I wonder, "What the hell is wrong with us?" By "us", I mean Homo sapiens, the obviously dominant animal on the planet who appears with increasing urgency to be committed to the destruction of Mother Earth and all that live on her. Hatred and war, prejudice and senseless violence home and abroad, environmental havoc... Seriously, what is wrong with us?

And then, when I am feeling the most bleak and pessimistic, I look at a large and extraordinary group of people. I look at the more than 1,400 volunteers of the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA.

Yes, there is something very wrong at the core of many people but there is also something very right with those who give of themselves so freely, so generously, and without any agenda other than the clear desire to help save the lives of animals who cannot help themselves.

Volunteers who sit patiently with confused and often scared cats to help them feel safe and loved until their new family comes along. Volunteers who exercise and play with dogs to help keep them interested in life, and in doing so also help them become better and more likely candidates to go home. Volunteers who feed tiny baby birds, so small and bald they don't even look like birds, babies who because of that help will grow strong and independent to make more baby birds on their own. Volunteers who work at our resale shop (the Pick of the Litter), helping to raise critically necessary funds to help pay for what we cannot get donated. Volunteers who paint our hallways and help repair our shelters so that the facilities work well and look inviting, all so needed to help keep the public coming through our doors. Volunteers who work with school children, to help them learn what it means to be humane and kind. Volunteers who go into nursing homes, prisons and hospitals, helping others benefit from the healing love the animals can share. Volunteers in literally every corner and working in every program of our organization.

This year, PHS/SPCA is on track to save the lives of more than 6,000 animals. If not for the volunteers, much of that life-saving work would not be possible. This Thanksgiving seems like a very right moment to say Thank You to our volunteers.

Thank you all for the work you do to help save lives. Thank you for being the good news.

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