Volunteer of the Month - November 2021

This month we’re celebrating Stephanie Zaron, an adoptions counsellor and foster. Stephanie works hard to ensure adopters and kitties meet their matches. She’s also always there to make sure her teammates feel supported. Stephanie’s passion shows in everything she does.

Here Stephanie tells us in her own words how she became involved in VOKRA and why she volunteers:

How did you start volunteering with VOKRA?

I first started fostering with VOKRA in 2013 when co-founders Karen and Maria were still working out of Karen's basement. I was busy with university but missed having a cat so I applied to foster. But by the time I was approved, I had my first cat. I picked up my first pair of kittens, two grey babies from a hoarding situation where one had been kept in a birdcage! The next summer, I fostered again and received two calico kittens, again from a hoarding situation. I learned how to give ringworm baths (oh joy!) and one of them had to have their tail amputated. The adopter chose the name Pony for the kitten with the amputated tail which was so cute! While it's lovely to have kittens in the house, it's also really exciting when they go to their amazing forever homes. Many fosters mention how sad it is to see their fosters go, but I always felt happy for their next adventure and proud I could help them get there.

How long and in what capacity have you been volunteering?

I fostered the summer of 2013 and 2014 before taking some time off while I went to UBC and joined a sorority. As an alumnus in 2018, I missed volunteering and raising money for philanthropy which I had done throughout high school and university. I decided to check out VOKRA again and applied to volunteer, this time becoming an adoptions counsellor. I loved it so much and wanted to do more. I attended the AGM meeting and spoke to my team lead, Peg, who suggested I help fellow team member Sabrina with training. Training and development have become a huge part of what I do now and I really enjoy it.

What is your favourite part of volunteering?

My favourite part about being a foster is when my now healthy and happy fosters are adopted into their new homes where they’ll be loved and cared for. It's really rewarding to see how excited and happy new adopters are with their new babies.

My favourite part about being an adoptions counsellor is seeing updates on the VOKRA Alumni page about the cats we've adopted out and how spoiled they are in their new homes. But my absolute favourite part about volunteering for VOKRA is our incredibly dedicated team! We now celebrate anniversaries because most of the team has been with us for over a year, which I'm really proud of. We celebrate our accomplishments as a team and are supportive of one another. Our team lead Peg is key to this and inspires us to have fun with it!

Do you have a favourite kitty you’ve met or a favourite story from your time with VOKRA?

My favourite story from my time with VOKRA is about one adopter in particular who’s truly the kindest person I've met. When I interviewed her back in 2018 and asked what kind of cat she was looking for she responded something along the lines of, “I want the cat that's been here the longest, give me a lemon”. Buy a lemon she meant a cat with an issue who's been passed over. No kittens, please. As I'm looking through our “lemons", I come across a pair of kittens who were surrendered after the girl climbed a curtain and fell and broke her hip. The previous adopter couldn't afford her surgery so she was returned to VOKRA. By the time she got to the vet, her hip had fused, resulting in her having a permanent limp. So I told the adopter about this pair of Siamese kittens, one with a broken hip. She initially said they weren't lemon-y enough! But I convinced her to at least meet them. She and her husband decided they were lemon-y enough after all and ended up adopting them.

Four years later, I recognize her name on the list of new applicants and immediately reach out. The kitty with the broken hip actually had a major issue (likely genetic as she was a Siamese) and had unfortunately passed. She turned out to be quite the lemon and very expensive. So now they’re looking for a buddy for the girl's brother. I ask again what kind of cat they're looking for. She responds with, “show us the lemons”. She has not once but twice asked for cats who have been written off by everyone else, even after what happened with the last one.

My heart just melts whenever I think about how generous and kind this woman is. Her husband is equally so. I've never spoken to him, but he's said "no kittens" twice and twice they have adopted kittens! If she reads this, she’ll know who I'm referring to, so THANK YOU from VOKRA, the adoptions team and from me personally for being a superhero for the kitties! We also love your entertaining updates on the VOKRA Alumni page about the resident couch potato and your kitten dribbling skills.

Here’s what Peg Sulivan, adoptions team lead, has to say about Stephanie….

“Steph’s a star team player. She’s my right hand and the best team leader I’ve ever worked with. Kind and caring, she really puts her energy into the job, always coming up with ideas to help the team and kitties succeed. She’s an excellent trainer of new recruits and has been instrumental in team development.”

Recruitment team lead Michelle Avina adds, “I really enjoy working with Stephanie. She reliably lets me know when the adoptions team needs to recruit and always follows up so I’m kept in the loop. I couldn’t ask for more from her as a co-worker”.

THANK YOU Stephanie for all the time and effort you put into helping kitties find their forever homes! We also appreciate all your efforts in helping the adoptions team run smoothly.

As a volunteer-driven non-profit, we clearly couldn’t do what we do without our extremely dedicated and hardworking team of volunteers. Thank you to each and every one of you!

VOKRA’s always in need of volunteers. If you’re interested in volunteering click here.