Hearts and Hands

Putting It All Together

"People ask me what an average day is like," says volunteer coordinator Jean Morris. "And I tell them there is no such thing as an average day!"

Despite the sometimes frantic pace of traffic through her office - a sort of Grand Central for people volunteering at Best Friends - Jean is an oasis of calm, meeting and talking with each person who wants to take part in caring for the animals at Best Friends.

She's a wealth of information for first-time visitors, can tell you what to expect as a volunteer, where to stay when you visit, what you can do after hours, which restaurants stay open late (none!), and how to plan your visit if you're traveling with pets. (With all the animals being cared for at the sanctuary already, we don't have facilities for visiting pets.)

Jean keeps in touch with people through email and letters and knows the "regulars" who visit Best Friends each year, like mother-daughter team Rita Stamey and Shelley Elliott.

"Jean is always so helpful," Rita said. "Shelley wanted to do a college biology project at Best Friends, and Jean got us in touch with the right people so Shelley could have a mentor here."

But Jean says the most important part of her job is what volunteers do after they go home. "I want them to go home with the concept of No More Homeless Pets - that we're working to find homes for all healthy, adoptable animals, and that there are animals in shelters all over the country who need love and help. If people can go home and be inspired to help the animals in their own community, then I feel I have done my job."

To get more information about volunteering at Best Friends, call the Volunteer Office at (435) 644-2001 x 119 or email volunteers@bestfriends.org.

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