Stray Thoughts Fall 2016
Volunteer Spotlight
Our New Fundraiser!
ammy Simms started volunteering at WSHS so long
ago she can’t remember a time when she didn’t work
at the shelter. The Saturday morning cattery volunteer
began working here in the late 1980s and other than some
time off when her sons were born, she hasn’t missed
a shift. “I really enjoy spending time with the cats and
helping the animals while they wait for a home; giving
them the time and attention that they deserve,” she said.
“It’s also rewarding to spend time with some of the cats
with special needs and work with them to become better
socialized and more adoptable.”
Thank you for your continued support for the West
Suburban Humane Society. We are excited to announce
that we will be participating in
a pilot program with Fundinco
as they test out a brand new
concept called the Fundinco Marketplace. This new
way to fundraise allows our supporters to sell products
or services and the proceeds go back to us – it really is
that simple!
T
Tammy works with Sandy and Brian Prioletti, both of
whom started volunteering in 2013. Sandy also subs
for house cats and helps work special events, as does
Tammy. Stephanie works with them Saturday mornings
as well. Sandy and Brian started out with WSHS as
adopters, taking home two cats from a “fruit litter” all
named after different fruits. “We thought they were
both girls but afterward the vet told us we had a boy and
girl – which ended up working out great,” Sandy said.
“We couldn’t agree on different names so they stayed
Grapefruit and Strawberry. People think a cat named
Grapefruit is pretty funny.”
Their shift is staggered, with each volunteering at a
different time to maximize the amount of work they
can get done. “Stephanie Aquirre comes in really early
and does feeding and starts the cleaning,” Tammy said.
“I come in a bit after her and continue. Then Sandy and
Brian come in before
opening and do what
needs to be done to
get the cattery looking
its best. I think we do
a good job because
we have many people
but because we’re not
all there at once it’s
not crowded. We each
seem to be good at
noticing the different
things that need to be done.”
All have other volunteer interests: Tammy is in a book
club and has a dog she adopted from WSHS; Sandy
works at the Morton Arboretum, Steppenwolf Theater
and plays golf; Brian does marching band, pep band and
symphonic band, theater crew and film club. But they
all enjoy working with the animals and learning about
them. “Each animal has a unique personality,” Sandy
said. “We appreciate that this is a no-kill shelter and the
cageless cattery gives the cats the opportunity to roam
around. There are so many wonderful animals available
for adoption.”
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How can you help?
Do you have products (new or used) or services that you
would be willing to sell on behalf of our organization? If
so, we’d love to see how this works and get them posted
up on the Fundinco Marketplace. Follow the steps below
to get started, it only takes a minute!
1. Visit http://marketplace.fundinco.org
2. Set up your Fundinco Marketplace account
by clicking on the “Register” link at the top
3. Post some items for sale on our behalf – think
of the following ideas:
• Clean out those closets!
• Unused pair of tickets to the game?
• Vacation rental home for the weekend
• Accounting services
• Gift cards to the local movie theater
4. Purchase an item and make a difference to us!
Thank you for your continued support. We appreciate
everything you do to make a difference for WSHS!