Erickson1 Kathryn Erickson Humanities 1010 Professor Catten May 2, 2017 ePortfolio Civic Engagement Final Assignment Provide information about your Civic Engagement Activity (the name, place, date, hours of time, etc). Give an overview of the event that you attended, or the volunteer organization that you supported, including your participation / support / duties / responsibilities / etc. For my Civic Engagement assignment, I volunteered for my first time at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary down in Kanab, UT with my mom and two sisters. We checked in on Friday morning March 24 th and volunteered until that Sunday afternoon March 26 th. The sanctuary has two shifts a day that volunteers can do: the morning shift: 8:15-11:30 a.m. and the afternoon shift: 1:15- 4:00. We did both shifts for 2 ½ days which equaled out to us having a total of 14 hrs. and 35 min. of volunteer work for that weekend. Best Friends has their sanctuary broken up into 7 parts: Dogtown, Cat World, Horse Haven, Piggy Paradise, Bunny House, Parrot Garden, and Wild Friends. For this trip we volunteered in Dogtown and Horse Haven. For Friday and Saturday morning we volunteered in Horse Haven by helping caregiver Michelle Moon muck the horse pastures as well as help groom and socialize with the horses. One of my favorite horses that we met while working in Horse Haven was Titan, a gray Andalusian gelding who had been majorly abused
Transcript
Erickson1
Kathryn Erickson
Humanities 1010
Professor Catten
May 2, 2017
ePortfolio Civic Engagement Final Assignment
Provide information about your Civic Engagement Activity (the name, place, date, hours of time, etc). Give an overview of the event that you attended, or the volunteer organization that you supported, including your participation / support / duties / responsibilities / etc.
For my Civic Engagement assignment, I volunteered for my first time at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary down in Kanab, UT with my mom and two sisters. We checked in on Friday morning March 24th and volunteered until that Sunday afternoon March 26th. The sanctuary has two shifts a day that volunteers can do: the morning shift: 8:15-11:30 a.m. and the afternoon shift: 1:15-4:00. We did both shifts for 2 ½ days which equaled out to us having a total of 14 hrs. and 35 min. of volunteer work for that weekend.
Best Friends has their sanctuary broken up into 7 parts: Dogtown, Cat World, Horse Haven, Piggy Paradise, Bunny House, Parrot Garden, and Wild Friends. For this trip we volunteered in Dogtown and Horse Haven. For Friday and Saturday morning we volunteered in Horse Haven by helping caregiver Michelle Moon muck the horse pastures as well as help groom and socialize with the horses. One of my favorite horses that we met while working in Horse Haven was Titan, a gray Andalusian gelding who had been majorly abused during training by his previous owners and was later brought to the sanctuary. Most of the horses that are at the sanctuary are not ridable due to abuse and medical problems, but they are some of the sweetest horses you will ever meet! And thanks to the sanctuary, they will have a forever home even if they are never adopted. We also got to visit Piggy Paradise (which is next door to Horse Haven) where we got to meet pickle the pig who loved to go on walks.
For the other three shifts, we volunteered in Dogtown. For our first dog shift we went and helped out in puppy preschool where we helped socialize the puppies by taking them out by groups and played with them in their little yard. Afterwards we helped feed them their dinner and helped clean the building before they closed up for the evening. For the second shift Saturday afternoon, I and my sister walked a dog named Doc who liked to carry his toy snake with him everywhere he went. He was aggressive with other dogs so we got to walk him on his own special trail. And for the third shift Sunday morning, my sister and I helped walk dogs and wash dog bowls that
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had just recently been used to feed the dogs their breakfast. While walking dogs I met one that I especially had a connection with named Crush, who was a Border collie mix who had been found as a Stray on the Navajo Reservation near Page, Arizona.
How did the event or volunteer service connect with the topic you chose? (Make reference to course materials).
Choosing to volunteer at Best Friends connects to The Essentials of Humanities as well as The Fundamentals of Religion. From the Paleolithic period up until now, animals have always been relied on by humans for many things in order to ensure their survival. They have been used to help lighten the burden of hard labor like plowing. They have been hunted for meat so that humans could give their body’s nourishment. And they have been used for companions and protectors for human families. Animals have walked side by side with humans throughout their history making their lives easier, and as the human race, we owe a tremendous debt to them! This is why it is such an incredible thing to have a place like Best Friends because it is through something like this organization that gives every person the opportunity to give back to animals, what they have given to us since forever.
Volunteering at Best Friends also connects to The Fundamentals of Religion because most believe in treating other living things as they would want to be treated. With this being said, by choosing to help homeless animals by giving them walks and loving them, you are showing compassion and love towards them which in Hinduism is called “Karma”, and is energy that will come back at you in the future.
Did you feel that your participation made you a more responsible citizen in terms of promoting your own freedom or the freedom of others? If so why, if not, why not?
From volunteering at Best Friends, I know it has made me a more responsible citizen and pet owner! Knowing that you were dedicating your own free time to help animals in need, even when you didn’t have to was so rewarding, and it was such an overwhelming feeling throughout the whole experience when I was at the sanctuary. Because of this, it only made me want to give more and when this trip ended I went in and signed up for more volunteer shifts for a couple weeks later. This experience also made me more appreciative and aware of the power I hold to help animals in need around my neighborhood and community when I do see them, as well as the home and love I am able to provide for the dogs that I have in my own life.
It was inspiring to meet and work with people that have the same passion and love for animals that you do, and is truly amazing how quickly you can bond with total strangers when you are both providing service for the same cause. The caregivers that work at the sanctuary really love what they do, and I hope to someday work as a caregiver there at the sanctuary too.
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Did you enjoy this experience and would you do it again? Why or why not?
Words cannot describe the joy that I felt when volunteering at Best Friends, and it has inspired me to work there someday. Also, because of the experience that I had, from this point on I have made it a goal for myself to volunteer there at the sanctuary at least twice a year and I have started donating money every month to help support their organization.
I will also have a forever reminder of the good work that the sanctuary works towards every single day. On the second trip I made down there, I ended up adopting the Border collie mix named Crush that I had made a special connection with while taking him for a walk from the previous trip. Before I took him home, I was able to take Crush for a sleepover with me in my hotel, which is something the sanctuary does for their cats and dogs so that volunteers have the opportunity to get to know each of them better as individuals. I know Crush was meant to be mine, and he has now not only settled in so well with me, but he has also bonded so strongly with his new brother who is a 4 year old Siberian husky.
Mucking pastures in Horse Haven Meeting Pickles the
