Our volunteers are the reason we exist and they have a unique set of extraordinary talents that support our mission to rescue and provide a safe habitat for displaced wild animals while promoting coexistence and preservation of their ecosystems.
2024 Q3 - Shelly & MaryBeth
MaryBeth Kensek and Shelly Wood were nominated as our volunteers of Q3 2024. They’ve been with us from the beginning and they always make group volunteer days fun! No matter the weather, hot or cold, they show up, and willing to do the hard work it takes to build habitats. And they also show up to join us to celebrate our milestones!
Putting up cattle panel walls for the Fab 4 Fox Habitat
“We volunteer at wild paws: The uniqueness to work and to provide a safe and healthy refuge for the animals. The people we work with are welcoming to us and compassionate about the animals. Such great appreciation and love for nature.”
2024 Q2 - Corbin & Breccan
Corbin and Breccan with enrichment items for the residents
Wild Paws volunteers come in all shapes and sizes, including the smaller people that are animal enthusiasts. We’d like to recognize and congratulate some very special boys as our Volunteers of 2024 Q2, Corbin and Breccan. We couldn’t be prouder to have them on our team!
As volunteers, they work on creating various enrichment for the Wild Paws residents, whether it be holiday-themed or just something fun for them to enjoy.
Breccan and Corbin were so excited to hear the news that they were chosen as Volunteers of the Quarter, and we’d like to share comments from the boys and their parents.
Corbin - “My most favorite thing about Wild Paws is we save animals and that we give them good habitats.”
Breccan - “I like how the animals are cared for. We make them fun things for them to play with. My favorite is to see how excited the foxes get with their enrichment. Especially, Flash. He is so fast.”
“As a parent, we want to share our love for animals with our kids. It is important for us to instill a deep appreciation for animals and the environment they live. Wild Paws helps us do this by teaching the value in helping animals in need. Through helping in little ways, it impacts the lives of the rescued animals in a large way. In turn it also helps their young minds gain a tangible understanding of how impactful volunteering can be. Even at a young age, they understand how their efforts can brighten our animals’ day. This helps boost their confidence and pride. We are so proud of them for contributing to the incredible effort put forth by the team of volunteers. They may be young, but their hearts are big. Watching the joy on their faces as they see the animals utilize things they made, fills our hearts.”
Our volunteers are the backbone of Wild Paws, and our youth are all of our future. Giving them the opportunity to enjoy learning about nature and wildlife conservation will help them become the stewards of our forests and wildlife.
If your kids, or if you know of any children who would be interested in learning about wildlife and/or would enjoy creating some enrichment items, here are our enrichment guidelines.
2024 Q1 - Jess Grill
When it comes to our excellent Wild Paws volunteers, Jess Grill is the definition of “Jill of All Trades”! She has been with Wild Paws since our first resident fox arrival in 2021. She knew some of the people who started Wild Paws and “these are the kind of people who know what they are doing, and have such a passion for an organization like this, that I knew I wanted to be a part of it.” She is an integral part of our animal care team, and is usually onsite multiple times a month to ensure all facets of our residents’ care is managed properly.
This means everything from helping to design and build our habitats to daily husbandry, which includes feeding, cleaning, training, and enrichment. Her holiday gingerbread house for the Fab 4 was outstanding and provided a lot of fun and entertainment for them!
Jess also sets up and manages our camera monitoring system. This system is invaluable to viewing and reviewing resident activities and safety at all hours of the day or night. She has a knack for understanding the unique qualities and needs of each resident. Jess has especially helped our special needs coyote, Daphne, by studying her behavior, trying new enrichment items for her and setting up Zoomonitor for daily logs. Through this type of specialized care, our residents are living their best lives.
We asked Jess,” What does Wild Paws mean to you?” Her response was: “It's one thing to have a mission statement but it's another to follow through and truly live by that statement, and that is absolutely what Wild Paws does. Animal care is a huge part of that but I love that sustainability and how we can impact the environment also plays a huge role. By taking in displaced native wildlife there is also the advantage to educate on the importance of coexistence with the animals.”
2023 Q3 Volunteer - Steph Anderson
Stephanie has been with Wild Paws since our conception, and we couldn’t be more grateful for her commitment to making Wild Paws successful in her great care for our residents. In her own words, “I volunteer for Wild Paws because I am invested in using my free time to assist with animal causes and really enjoy interacting with the animals I help care for. It helps fill a need (that) I have to put out some good in this world. There are many different ways to help volunteer for Wild Paws, for example, helping with social media, assisting in grant writing, data entry, creating enrichment for the animals, gardening, building animal dens and platforms, as well as animal care.”
Update 2024: Steph continues to make great suggestions to improving our onsite organization of tools, equipment and gardening supplies. She also knows who likes which treats best, which is very helpful to animal care!
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead
2023 Q2 Volunteer - Chris Merton
Meet Chris Merton, Wild Paws Volunteer of the Quarter Q2 2023. From the beginning, Chris has dedicated many hours to Wild Paws and has been instrumental in preparing the land and completing habitats for for our residents. He has led many group volunteer days, worked on his own, and donated supplies and equipment all while having a positive outlook and vision for Wild Paws’ future. We are lucky to call him a friend and fellow animal lover.
In Chris’ words, “I volunteer at Wild Paws to do what I can to help minimize the negative effects on wild animals from human - animal interactions.”
Update 2024: Chris is group volunteer day lead and has already starting clearing the area for the Fab 4 Foxes new habitat. He helps to set our priorities and maintain our project lists.