*Clowder = a group or cluster of cats.

When Karen Duncan and Maria Soroski founded VOKRA back in 2000 it was headquartered in the basement of Karen’s Victorian home in Kitsilano. The plan was to care for very young, mostly bottle-fed kittens and, as often happens, things didn’t go according to plan.

Karen & Maria with longtime volunteer Shelley
Back in the day, VOKRA had a “staff” of approximately 10 volunteers and averaged 150 rescues a year. By 2008, that number had increased to 800 cats and kittens and in 2014 that number jumped to more than 1,800. After finding loving homes for thousands of cats and kittens it was about time VOKRA moved out of Karen’s basement and got a new home of its own. So in 2014 we opened our Operations Centre.
Since opening the Operations Centre (a.k.a. Ops), VOKRA has been very lucky to have an amazing amount of truly dedicated volunteers join us and help save the lives of cats and kittens.

Volunteers at our Ops making sure kittens are flea-free
Today, VOKRA currently has more than 400 volunteers working hard either behind the scenes or at Ops. We also have more than 550 foster homes, currently fostering or available to foster.
Just at our Operations Centre alone, there are an average of 168 volunteers a week! Here’s a quick snapshot of what it takes to make Ops tick:
- Cat Care, Operations Support and Maintenance – 125+ shifts per week.
- Medical Team – 17 volunteers
- Reception – 20+ shifts per week
Our Operations Centre is also very busy with a large number of fosters who pick up food/supplies/medications for their foster kitties.
There are also hundreds of VOKRA volunteers “behind the scenes” who make things happen. We currenlty have 261+ volunteers on 48 teams, including:

Our event volunteers are always out in the community
Volunteer Recruitment- Adoption Counsellors – Adoption Contracts – Foster Coordinators – New Foster – Homes Interviewers – Kitty Health Checks – Medical Research – Foster Kitty Vaccination – Cat Behaviourism – Monitoring Health in Foster Care – Post Adoption Health Support – Vet Lab Reports – Fundraising – Events – Volunteer Committee – Communications – Photography – Kitty Biographers – Finance – IT – Database Administration – Foster Website – Trapping – Barn Placement – Drivers – Southlands Barn (where elderly feral cats and disabled kitties live) – and more!!!!

There never seems to be a shortage of cats to rescue
Sometimes it seems like we’re all chasing our tails trying to keep up – we’ve grown in leaps and bounds and, at times, are still going through growing pains. But we’re all here for one thing – the kitties.
Thank you to each and every one of our special volunteers who are a member of the VOKRA clowder. We wouldn’t exist without your dedication and support. Each and every one of you make a difference in the lives of kitties each day.
We’re always looking for new volunteers! If you’re interested in volunteering, visit our website at vokra.ca/volunteer.

October 19/2017
VOLUNTEERS AT OPERATIONS CENTRE:
CAT CARE / OPERATIONS SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE 151 VOLUNTEERS
AVERAGE NUMBER — IS 125 SHIFTS PER WEEK FILLED 78% HAVE STAYED BEYOND 6 MO.
RECEPTION:
19-21 VOLUNTEERS PER WEEK
MEDICAL TEAM:
17 VOLUNTEERS CURRENTLY *** NEED MORE… 2 X 7 = 14, SOME MEMBERS HAVE TO VOLUNTEER MORE THAN 1 SHIFT
WALL STREET OPS TEAM:
5 VOLUNTEERS
BUILDING – WALL STREET:
1 VOLUNTEER
PROCUREMENT / AND INVENTORY:
1 VOLUNTEER
****TOTAL– AVERAGE NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS PER WEEK AT THE CENTRE: – 168
VOKRA IN GENERAL:
(OUTSIDE THE OPERATIONS CENTRE)
AT SOUTHLANDS BARN:
12 REGULAR WEEKLY VOLUNTEERS / 3 CASUAL / 1 BARN MANAGER
FOSTER HOMES THAT HAVE FOSTER KITTIES :
248 HOMES
NUMBER OF CATS CURRRENTLY IN FOSTER CARE:
472 CATS/KITTENS
ADOPTIONS SO FAR IN 2017:
940 / AS OF OCTOBER 17/2017
RECRUITMENT:
9 VOLUNTEERS
FOSTER COORDINATORS:
19 VOLUNTEERS = 6 NEW FOSTER INTERVIEWERS, 10 CO-ORDINATORS WHO OVERSEE FOSTER HOMES IN VARIOUS AREAS OF GREATER VANCOUVER/SURREY, 3 PEOPLE CHECKING FOR HEALTH UPDATES FOR FOSTER KITTIES
ADOPTION COUNCELLOR TEAM:
5 VOLUNTEERS FULL TIME / 4-5 PEOPLE WHO DO OCCATIONAL APPLICATIONS
APPROXIMATELY 150 APPLICATIONS AT ANY GIVEN TIME BEING WORKED ON
ADOPTION CONTRACTS (PAPERS) TEAM:
17 VOLUNTEERS
VOKRA “RETURN” SURRENDERS:
1 VOLUNTEER
TRAPPING TEAM VANCOUVER:
3 VOLUNTEERS
VOKRA SURREY TEAM:
6 VOLUNTEERS
MEDICAL RESEARCH TEAM:
3 VOLUNTEERS
CAT BEHAVIOUR TEAM:
4 VOLUNTEERS
FOSTER KITTY VACCINATION TEAM:
10 VOLUNTEERS IN THE LOWER MAINLAND ***NEED MORE PEOPLE
POST ADOPTION SUPPORT TEAM:
4 VOLUNTEERS
HEALTH IN FOSTER CARE TEAM:
4 VOLUNTEERS
VET RESULTS ADMIN.TEAM:
2 VOLUNTEERS
CATS IN CARE BIOS TEAM:
3 VOLUNTEERS
PHOTO /VIDEO UPLOADS TO DATABASE/WEBSITE:
3 VOLUNTEERS
BARN PLACEMENT FOR WORKING CATS TEAM:
3 VOLUNTEERS
DRIVERS TEAM:
54 VOLUNTEERS *** STILL NEED MORE
GIFT CARD PROGRAM TEAM:
5 VOLUNTEERS
ONLINE STORE:
1 VOLUNTEER
COMMUNICATIONS TEAM:
2 VOLUNTEERS ***** NEED MORE
FUNDRAISING TEAM:
9 VOLUNTEERS *** NEED MORE
VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE TEAM:
6 VOLUNTEERS
PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM:
19 VOLUNTEERS + 6 BACK UP
CALENDAR COMMITTEE TEAM:
7 VOLUNTEERS
VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH TEAM:
1 VOLUNTEER
FINANCE TEAM:
4 VOLUNTEERS / + DONATIONS/DEPOSITS – 2 VOLUNTEERS
LEGACY -2 VOLUNTEERS
ADMINISTRATION TEAM:
3 VOLUNTEERS
IT /DATABASE TEAM:
1 VOLUNTEER ***** DESPIRATELY NEED MORE PEOPLE
FOSTER WEBSITE MANAGEMENT /UPDATES–
2 VOLUNTEERS
MISSING CATS TEAM:
2 VOLUNTEERS
TRIAL PET INSURANCE:
1 VOLUNTEER
ADOPT A PET DATABASE/ PETFINDER:
1 VOLUNTEER
KIJIJI ADS:
1 VOLUNTEER
CRAIGSLIST ADS:
1 VOLUNTEER
NEWSPAPER ADS:
1 VOLUNTEER