Volunteer Appreciation Week Giveaway!
We want to thank Mud Bay for generously donating two fantastic prizes for our giveaway this week. They provided a dog-themed and a cat-themed prize basket, each loaded with yummy treats and fun toys to pamper your pet. Thank you Mud Bay for supporting our amazing volunteers during this weeklong celebration. Along with that, there was also a Wildlife themed basket and a Self-care themed basket.
Names were drawn using a random prize wheel from among currently active volunteers and foster parents who responded to our email invitation earlier this week. Check out the video below for the winners.
Thank you, again!
If you won a prize, please make sure to email the Volunteer Program Managers at [email protected] or [email protected] to redeem it! We’ll then coordinate a pick-up at the PAWS Lynnwood campus.
CAS staff and the animals showed their appreciation to the volunteers all week long!
Cat City kicked off Volunteer Appreciation Week by putting up a huge “Thank You” display to let all of the Cat City volunteers know how much they were appreciated. There was also a treat station and handwritten Kudos cards for each volunteer as they come arrived for their shift.
And, from the wild side of PAWS….check out their cool Kudoboard.
We’re celebrating you!
Every volunteer that gives their time and talents to help the animals at PAWS is an outstanding volunteer and we honor each of you. We would like to highlight a few individuals who went above and beyond in 2020.
Stanley Silverstein – Shelter
Stanley joined PAWS as a volunteer in the fall of 2016 as a Cat Room Cleaner. He was a regular fixture on Monday mornings until we had to furlough all of our volunteers in March last year due to the pandemic. When we started recalling volunteers later in the year, one of the areas of greatest need was help with dishes and laundry. An almost never-ending job, this is not usually a sought-out volunteer position, but it’s a critical part of keeping our cats and dogs comfortable and healthy. That is the position Stanley signed up for, and he has done two shifts a week since his return, logging 170 hours last year. By all reports Stanley is amazingly helpful, dependable, a joy to work with and he keeps the kitchen spotless. Thank you, Stanley, for volunteering in this not so glamorous but very crucial role when we needed you the most!!
Judy Haakons – Clinic
Judy’s dedication and willingness to be flexible is what makes her an outstanding volunteer in the shelter vet clinic. She always shows up for her shift, offers to stay late, and is always willing to pick up a shift if needed. When volunteers were recalled from being furloughed in 2020, she was flexible and gladly learned new skills when the position she was already trained for was combined with another one. In addition to volunteering in the clinic, she also walks dogs, and is a foster parent. Judy is an amazing person and staff jokingly tell her that she can never leave. Well, it’s working because Judy celebrates 10 years as a PAWS volunteer this year.
Rene Streeter Dybdahl
Reliable, dedicated, hardworking, and consistent: these are some of the many, many words that came to the PAWS Wildlife staff’s minds when asked to describe Rene. Since she started at the Wildlife Center in 2017, Rene has become a dependable figure on her Tuesday morning shift. She quickly became an Advanced Skills Volunteer and has flourished over the years in this role, always careful and respectful when caring for the wildlife.
She never shirks a task, no matter how difficult it may be, and she regularly leaves her shift sweaty and dirty. She is willing to do the hard work and never leaves it half done, even if that means she might end her shift a little late! When we began inviting volunteers back to campus in 2020, she was one of the first to respond, which was just so very much like Rene. This year, we recognize Rene Streeter-Dybdahl as one of our Wildlife Volunteers of the Year. Thank you so much for your dedication to PAWS, and for your passion for our mission.
Ryan Ward
If you look up the word “steady” in a thesaurus, Ryan’s picture would be there with big black borders and bright highlighted arrows. He approaches any new situation at the Wildlife Center with a flexible mindset and a level head, always asking questions when he is not certain how to do something. He is a strong communicator and always offers to help on additional tasks even after already doing many other chores that same morning. Ryan is also incredibly reliable, only missing several shifts since starting as a Wildlife Care Assistant in 2017 (but always making them up, so technically missing no shifts!). He even comes to his Friday morning shift 10-15 minutes early every week to get a head start on the day!
Ryan is a friendly and kind mentor. The rehabilitators are always happy assigning brand-new volunteers and interns to work with him during their first few shifts, so they have a positive introduction to their new role as a Wildlife care Assistant. This year, we recognize Ryan Ward as one of our Wildlife Volunteers of the Year. Thank you so much for your dedication to PAWS, and for your passion for our mission.
Joe Grunenwald
Joe Grunenwald came on board as a Development volunteer around the Fall of 2019. Joe, a proficient managing editor, provides us with expert proofing and editorial feedback on our donor communications. Despite the pandemic and a number of challenges thrown at Joe in 2020, he remained dedicated to his volunteer role and helped ensure our donor communications were on-point, which was more important than ever due to the financial impact the pandemic had on PAWS and our community. Joe is a pleasure to work with and through the good times and the challenging times, we can always count on Joe to help us better our messaging, which in turn helps PAWS raise more critical funding for animals in need. The animals and everyone at PAWS thanks you, Joe!
Linda Selvy
Linda is an invaluable volunteer on the Education Team. When Covid hit, Linda helped us rapidly pivot by handling some of the administrative tasks of our virtual programs. Linda is always willing to help in any way, and she continually requests feedback and strives to improve. Linda’s knowledge of PAWS and her commitment to supporting our Education Programs makes her an outstanding volunteer!
Dawn Sklerov
Cat City has chosen Dawn Sklerov as our Cat City Outstanding Volunteer. Many of you may know that Dawn is a long-time Cat City Volunteer and weekly cat transporter. What a lot of people don’t know is that Dawn has also fostered many tough cats for PAWS and has helped us place them in great homes by allowing in-home visits. In 2020, this took on a whole new dimension with the pandemic and Dawn is the reason why several cats are thriving and living amazing new lives today!
Nate Sage
Nate Sage joined the PAWS Foster Care Program in July of 2011. Since then, he has fostered over 87 cats most of which were long-term placements. At first, Nate helped the foster department by caring for animals recovering from upper respiratory infections, or nursing mother cats with their kittens. A few years after becoming established with our program, the foster team needed a home to care for a cat that had been diagnosed with ringworm. Cats with ringworm have a long recovery period and very specific care needs. There are very few foster families willing to house these cats during their recovery, and ringworm cases are one of the hardest for staff to find care for. Nate did not hesitate when the foster team needed to find a sweet cat named Spider Monkey a foster home while he recovered from the fungus. Since then, Nate has become one of PAWS’ few regular ringworm foster homes, never saying no to an animal needing care. He has fostered a total of 50 ringworm cats since 2015, which is quite an achievement! Nate provides a warm and loving environment for cats who would otherwise have a long and stressful recovery alone. We want to thank him for being on board to care for ringworm cats whenever needed, and for his continued support of the foster program. We are incredibly grateful for all the amazing work he has done for PAWS animals!
Terry Boaz
Terry has been a stellar volunteer and an amazing help to the Events and Marketing teams during this past year. Even through the challenges of the pandemic, Terry was always the first one to volunteer his time, spending hours delivering dozens of auction items and Wild Night party boxes to our supporters all around the Seattle area, helping at our PAWSwalk t-shirt pick up station and taking on many more projects for our team. No matter the task, Terry is there to help and always brings a cheerful and positive attitude. Terry is also very involved with PAWSwalk and even won Top Volunteer in 2020 for raising over $1,300 for his team. PAWS is lucky to have Terry as a volunteer and we are so thankful for everything he does for our department!
Kathie Roth
Kathie Roth has been volunteering at PAWS since at least February of 2005. She enjoys working outdoors keeping the PAWS site looking pretty and has helped with painting, organizing, and fundraising events too! Kathie is a wonderful volunteer who can always find something useful to do even on days when Jim forgets she is coming in.
PAWS would like to recognize the following individuals for their 5+ years of service as a volunteer. Thank you for the years, and hours upon hours of service you generously donated to helping the animals at PAWS!
| Susan Bocek | 33 years |
| Charles (Chuck) Springer | 21 years |
| Karen Newell | 18 years |
| Jamie Hubbard | 17 years |
| Erin Sanders | 17 years |
| Randi Hagen | 17 years |
| Sheri Clark | 17 years |
| Jo Ann Syron | 17 years |
| Marria Ferry Mumme | 17 years |
| Beth Naughtin | 17 years |
| Katie (Kathryn) Speirs | 16 years |
| Linda Martin | 16 years |
| Kathie Roth | 16 years |
| Dirk Van Nederveen | 15 years |
| Sharon Honda | 14 years |
| Karin Carson | 14 years |
| Grant Palmer | 14 years |
| Jane Weight | 14 years |
| Dina (Lisa) Kraft | 14 years |
| Jessica Dalton | 13 years |
| Kammie Flitton | 13 years |
| Joanna Tarr | 13 years |
| Melissa Wood | 12 years |
| Margaret Brown | 12 years |
| Kristen Amidon | 11 years |
| Jeannie Ray | 11 years |
| Kim Clousing | 11 years |
| Sam Otis | 11 years |
| Debbie Friend | 11 years |
| Dawn Sklerov | 11 years |
| Jennifer MacDougall | 10 years |
| Jennifer Hanft | 10 years |
| Stephanie Nichols | 10 years |
| Joe Prall | 10 years |
| Jill Coffelt | 10 years |
| Jenee Colton | 10 years |
| Margaret (Meg) Schwecke | 10 years |
| Terres MacLeod | 10 years |
| Jamie Espeland | 10 years |
| Andrea Goldsmith | 10 years |
| Tom Cole | 10 years |
| Amanda Hernandez | 10 years |
| Victoria Cole | 10 years |
| Nancy Ross | 9 years |
| Heather Levin | 9 years |
| Alyssa Leonhard | 9 years |
| Judy Haakons | 9 years |
| Chris Hammer | 9 years |
| Michelle Wyman | 9 years |
| Veronica (Ronni) Boyer | 9 years |
| Molly Bozarth | 9 years |
| Cindy Furukawa | 9 years |
| Cindy Horne | 9 years |
| Mark Shander | 9 years |
| Gianna Cannataro | 9 years |
| Kim Shigenaka | 9 years |
| Barrie Huff | 8 years |
| Christina Neff | 8 years |
| Karen Bachelder | 8 years |
| Jeff Guhl | 8 years |
| Amanda Black | 8 years |
| Corey Murphy | 8 years |
| Kandice Todaro | 8 years |
| Caroline Rourke | 8 years |
| Michelle Loprieno | 8 years |
| Delaney Brummet | 8 years |
| Sabina Boehm | 8 years |
| Ileana Janovich | 8 years |
| Nado Youk | 8 years |
| Jim Freier | 8 years |
| Kendra Weil | 8 years |
| Jim Freeman | 8 years |
| Matthew McCoy | 8 years |
| Susan Shepard | 8 years |
| Jennie Lai | 8 years |
| Jennifer Covert | 8 years |
| Caren Kirsch | 8 years |
| Kathy Olsen | 8 years |
| Linda Erickson | 8 years |
| Anna Altavas | 8 years |
| Jeri Hunter | 7 years |
| Lynnette Husted | 7 years |
| Meredy Davis | 7 years |
| Elizabeth Kwan | 7 years |
| Amber Wutzke | 7 years |
| Jamelyn Snoots | 7 years |
| Jacob Lemberg | 7 years |
| Pam Foster | 7 years |
| Sharon Horswill | 7 years |
| Liz Stone | 7 years |
| Les Willman | 7 years |
| Bettie Hugo | 7 years |
| Asa Fox | 7 years |
| Randy Gossard | 7 years |
| Kathy Wright | 7 years |
| Jaclyn Bringuez | 7 years |
| Erika Ludwig | 7 years |
| Lori Rollins | 7 years |
| Margo Landreville | 7 years |
| Sheridan (Sheri) LaVigne | 6 years |
| Joanna Ford | 6 years |
| Gary Burnopp | 6 years |
| Richard Grendzinski | 6 years |
| Linda Langenwalter | 6 years |
| Kathleen Cottle | 6 years |
| Jackie Bindon | 6 years |
| Jodi Gaylord | 6 years |
| Miki Taguchi | 6 years |
| Helen Mirabella | 6 years |
| Melanie Eckert | 6 years |
| Melissa Austin | 6 years |
| Donna Gonder | 6 years |
| Leslie Phillips | 6 years |
| Leigh Spruce | 6 years |
| Sukhman Ghumman | 6 years |
| Bob Seifried | 6 years |
| Karen Looram | 6 years |
| Maggie Tonkin | 6 years |
| Svetlana Syropyatova | 6 years |
| Elizabeth Drewlow | 6 years |
| Rhonda Whiteley | 6 years |
| Missy Clayman | 6 years |
| Chris Burnstin | 6 years |
| Gabriele Blahnik-Fagan | 6 years |
| Kathryn Koozer | 6 years |
| Marilyn Anderson | 6 years |
| Ana Kimball | 6 years |
| Mike Polli | 6 years |
| Sarah Lloyd | 6 years |
| Melanie Calderwood | 6 years |
| Megan Swander | 6 years |
| Merina Burda | 5 years |
| Terri Eagen-Torkko | 5 years |
| Renee Doi | 5 years |
| Dave Lake | 5 years |
| Simon Wong | 5 years |
| Erin Beatty | 5 years |
| Carissa Leone | 5 years |
| Laurie Lindblad | 5 years |
| Stacey Legg | 5 years |
| Paula Snyder | 5 years |
| Mary Cleveland Brown | 5 years |
| Joshua Woods | 5 years |
| Wendy Hood | 5 years |
| Shawn Connaway | 5 years |
| Sally Robertson | 5 years |
| Natalie Daughtry | 5 years |
| Stephanie Sanders | 5 years |
| Esther Okawa | 5 years |
| Karla Johnston | 5 years |
| Marshall Johnston | 5 years |
| Barbara Haas | 5 years |
| Sherlee Ma | 5 years |
| Jen Dunnaway | 5 years |
| Paul Allen | 5 years |
| Kirsten Taeuber | 5 years |
| Amanda Murdock | 5 years |
| Erika Russ Paz | 5 years |
| Rushi Jaradi | 5 years |
| Kim Caschette | 5 years |
| Allison Parsons | 5 years |
| Regan Campbell | 5 years |
| Cathy Morgan | 5 years |
| Wendy Ellison | 5 years |
| Heather Lopaschuk | 5 years |
| Nate Sage | 5 years |
| TomiJo McCarrier | 5 years |
| Amanda Heilman | 5 years |