This July, we’re celebrating not one, but four volunteers! The Spencer family - Sheryl, Keith and daughters Bridget and Virginia - have volunteered for VOKRA in many ways over the years. Virginia and Bridget have always taken the lead, with Sheryl filling in the blanks and Keith providing moral support and backup if needed.

Here Sheryl tells us how the family became involved with VOKRA and why they volunteer:

How did you start volunteering with VOKRA?

We knew about VOKRA because in 2009 we adopted three kittens from them. Several years later our daughters, Bridget and Virginia, began volunteering at VOKRA’s feral cat sanctuary which is in our neighbourhood and they were very keen to foster kittens. I was unsure how our resident cats would react to kittens, but in 2017 we had to cancel a summer trip to Scandinavia at the last minute, so we decided to try fostering to give our girls something meaningful and fun to do.

Since then, we’ve fostered 56 kittens and I also do data entry for kitty bios twice a week. (When kittens or cats are ready for adoption, the foster parent submits an online form describing the kitty’s personality and all pertinent info. The bios team then turns this info into a biography that helps the adoption team when matching kitties to adopters). Our girls do all the kitten care, from bottle feeding during the night, administering medications, clipping nails, vet visits … if a kitten needed something, they did it! They’re both in university now so our bottle baby kitten days may be on hold, but my husband and I will always be on call for emergency foster placement.

How long and in what capacity(s) have you been volunteering?

Bridget and Virginia worked in the feral barn for three and two years respectively, I’ve been entering bios for almost three year and as a family we’ve been fostering kittens for four years now.

Bridget has also been a volunteer photographer for three years, taking photos of kittens and cats to complement their bios, and Virginia has donated 10% of profits from her online business, Nutmeg & Co, to VOKRA for the last two years.

It’s no secret … our love for VOKRA and the kitties runs deep :-)

What’s your favourite part of volunteering?

Our favourite part of volunteering is when a kitten gets matched with and selected by the perfect adopter. VOKRA has an amazing adoptions team and I’m always amazed that every single kitten we have fostered has been adopted by a perfectly suited adopter. People always ask how we could possibly part with the kittens when they get adopted, but it’s easy. We’re fostering and not collecting kitties, so although we love every foster kitten, ‘goodbye is the goal’.

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

Of course, we have had many ‘favourite’ kittens, but my favourite adoption story involved a single black kitten named Tug. A potential adopter contacted me and asked if she could come meet him right away. Within the hour she was here and immediately fell in love. She hoped to take Tug home the next day as she was about to work a night shift and then be on four days off, which would allow her to be home full time for the first four days after adopting. Typically, adoptions don’t happen that quickly as a meeting with a VOKRA contract volunteer needs to be arranged so the adopter can sign the paperwork and review care. Depending on how busy it is, a ‘papers’ meeting can take up to several days or a week. Not this time. A volunteer who lives close to the workplace of the adopter agreed to meet that evening on the adopter’s evening work break and completed all the required paperwork. The adopter came the next morning after getting off work and picking up necessary supplies and officially took her new kitten home - less than 24 hours after contacting us about a viewing!

Here’s what Diane Atkinson, foster coordinator, has to say about the Spencers:

“Sheryl and daughters Bridget and Virginia have been a joy to work with. They love kittens and have taken numerous kittens under their wings. Bridget and Virginia have done much of the taming and hard work; Virginia is good at getting all the “paperwork” done and Sheryl does the driving! Much thought also went into kitten names! These three ladies took on bottle feeders with no experience and didn’t hesitate to do the night shifts too. I’ll miss sending them kittens, but university life takes over!”

THANK YOU Sheryl, Keith, Bridget and Virginia for everything you do! The time and effort you’ve dedicated to fostering and helping VOKRA in so many ways truly is appreciated.

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

VOKRA’s always in need of volunteers and foster. To learn more click here.

Volunteer of the Month - July 2021

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