Grace has been caring for stray cats for at least the past 15 years in South Vancouver. She took in Niko, who had a damaged leg, Kit Kat, who’d been hit by a car and lost an eye and several others with varying illnesses and injuries. Luckily, she has a large house with several rooms so she can isolate a cat when needed.

Up until recently, Grace had five of her own cats and was also feeding strays in the neighbourhood. After feeding a stray she named Zozo for two years, she was finally able to catch him when he became very ill, and brought him to VOKRA where he’s been in our care for the past several months.

Grace was introduced to VOKRA by a friend and started helping out with the recycling. Grace was visiting Zozo daily and started visiting other cat residents who needed some TLC. She’s developed a special relationship with Tinka, who has a variety of issues, but runs to the door when she sees Grace arrive. They discuss philosophy and world issues together, as well as play string and have treats.

Grace has a special affinity with all animals and, when visiting the cats at our Operations Centre, she purposefully takes on those who need extra attention; besides Tinka, there’s Carmine and Ben, Scotty and Dancer and many others.

THANK YOU Grace for all the love you show the kitties, both indoors and outdoors. We know they love you just as much as we do!

As a volunteer-driven non-profit, we clearly couldn’t do what we do without our extremely dedicated and hard working team of volunteers. Thank you to each and every one of you!

VOKRA’s always in need of volunteers. If you’re interested in volunteering with us visit our website at vokra.ca/volunteer.

VOKRA will be holding its 2018 Annual General Meeting on October 18 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. Anyone can attend our AGM, however in order to vote you need to become a society member. Membership is only $10 and is a great way to show your support for VOKRA.

2018 VOKRA AGM
Thursday, October 18
7 to 8 p.m. (doors open at 6:15 p.m.)
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 1573 – 18 Avenue E., Vancouver
RSVP & BECOME A SOCIETY MEMBER

Members will receive a full agenda package, but briefly, the points to be covered will be:

• Minutes of the Previous AGM, October 19, 2017
• Presentation: 2017 – 2018 in Review
• Treasurer’s Report: 2017 Financial Statements
• Motion to set membership fee post October AGM
• Motions to change the bylaws to align with the new Societies Act
• Election of board members
• Thank you to the outgoing board
• New business
• Meeting adjourned

We have asked people to indicate whether or not they will be attending the meeting so we can get a rough idea of the number of people who will show up. People intending to run for Board positions must be present for both the nomination and the acceptance of the nomination. Under BC Society Act bylaws, no proxies are permitted.

At the AGM we will be electing six new members of the board of directors to serve a two-year term until 2020. Board membership is a leadership position within VOKRA that guides the organization to achieve its mission. Directors act in a position of trust for the community and are responsible for the effective governance of our organization.

Current board members seeking re-election:

Karen Duncan

Karen, along with Maria Soroski, founded VOKRA in 1999 with a mission to care for kittens that needed around the clock bottle feeding and treatment. With assistance and training from Dr. Brondwin at Arbutus West Animal Clinic, they were able to make their dream a reality and things grew from there. Over the years, Karen has seen VOKRA expand with ever growing teams of people who organize and share the work.  She’s thrilled the organization now has the Operations Centre, which has enough space to allow for safely housing incoming cats, storage and all of VOKRA’s volunteers. She’s also proud of VOKRA’s TNR program that has effectively eliminated the endless flow of tiny kittens from Vancouver streets.

Karen Kohfeld

Karen was elected to the board in 2016 and currently serves as secretary. She’s been involved with VOKRA for more than eight years as a foster, helping at events and the Operations Centre, as well as serving on the Medical Research team. Additionally, she’s encouraged her daughter’s participation in small ways (fundraising through a lemonade stand.) and helped to set up an outreach activity at her daughter’s school. With Karen’s background in science and research, she thinks systematically about problems and operations and approaches issues with an open mind.

Helen Savkovic

Helen has been involved with animal rescue since 2005 when she went down to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. After returning home, she became involved with a local rescue where she worked on the campaign to ban the sale of puppies in Richmond pet stores and organized their entry in the Pepsi Challenge where they won $25,000. Helen strongly believes in the cause of animal welfare and the no-kill philosophy and brings a wealth of knowledge to VOKRA.

New candidates seeking election:

Ann Peters

Ann is a project management professional with 30+ years experience in business and a longtime supporter of VOKRA. She has a background in business administration, project and change management and has provided management consulting support to major Canadian companies, Crown corporations and private and public sector organizations. Ann was a volunteer executive director to a non-profit environmental education organization from 2000 to 2015 and still actively volunteers with the charity.

Ann has a strong financial analysis background, has extensive experience managing large demanding projects and an excellent track record for getting things completed on time and on budget. She also has excellent operational and human resources management experience and has provided contract senior management support to various organizations moving through change. Ann has provided support in the design and delivery of policy, process and procedure documentation for large to medium sized organization which provided much needed structure to organizations facing change.

Lea Tkatch

Lea has a deep seated love for all animals and is especially passionate about kitties. Over the past two years, she’s fostered more than 35 cats and kittens and also volunteers weekly doing cat care at our Operations Centre. Through her professional life, Lea has extensive experience working as a career  administrator with a focus on office management, executive support, human resources and recruiting, and project and events management.

Lea’s core strengths include being resourceful, detail oriented and diplomatic. She has excellent organizational and leadership abilities that are complimented by a positive attitude, a tireless work ethic and a love of all things feline.

David West

David’s the proud cat dad to three VOKRA kitties and has been volunteering as a foster, driver and receptionist since 2016. David, along with his wife Pat, were named as the VOKRA Volunteers of the Month for December 2017. Prior to his involvement with VOKRA, David spent more than 20 years as a Sail Canada Instructor Evaluator and served on the Learn to Cruise Committee of the Canadian Yachting Association. David also has extensive management experience after spending 15 years as the operations manager for Canada’s largest pleasure craft charter company.

Paul with Spitfire

October’s the month of Thanksgiving and we couldn’t be more thankful for all of our volunteers. Without the hundreds of individuals who give thousands of hours of their time each month, VOKRA, quite simply, wouldn’t exist. One of those volunteer is our Volunteer of the Month October – Paul Breland.

Paul began volunteering with VOKRA in the spring of 2013 and, since that time, he’s fostered 16 litters, including 15 moms and 67 kittens.

Paul started volunteering after being sent a link to a webcam run by a kitten foster for Purrfect Pals in Seattle. After watching him foster a mom and kittens for a while, Paul thought it looked like fun and there was no reason why he couldn’t do it.

“I had been going through my own kind of midlife crisis at the time, wondering what I was doing with my life besides working and playing PC games,” said Paul. “Helping kittens is a way to do something more meaningful with my spare time.”

As a foster of moms plus their kittens, Paul’s main focus is ensuring the kittens grow up to be healthy, friendly and well-trained. If the kittens are around a week old when they arrive, it’s mostly a matter of making sure mom is well-fed and her litter scooped. As the kittens grow, Paul gets them used to being around people and being handled. He watches for any sign of ill health and weighs them frequently to ensure they’re going in the right direction. At around five weeks old Paul helps transition them to eating wet food and using the litterbox. As they near adoption age, he then submits pictures and bios for the website and answers questions when potential adopters come to view them.

“Obviously, my favourite part of volunteering is getting to sit in a room surrounded by kittens!”, said Paul. “But aside from that, the best part is seeing how happy the adopters are when they pick up their new furry friends. Many have left in tears they’re so happy to be adding a new family member (or two or three).”

It’s hard for Paul to pick a favourite story out of so many, but when pressed he said fostering the “Shovel Kittens” is one of the best. “They were discovered on a cold, rainy November day when their mom was trying to shelter them under a shovel leaning against a house,” explains Paul. “When they came into my care, they were really hissy and didn’t like attention at all. But after weeks of socialisation and handling (and a bit of reverse psychology!), they discovered they loved attention and became purring lap kitties.”

It’s even more difficult to pick a favourite kitty out of the 82 he’s fostered so far, but Paul must go with Hurricane and Spitfire, two kittens he just adopted from his most recent litter as company for his 10-year-old girl kitty. Outside of family bias, one kitty who stands out is Dusty, adopted by a couple of Paul’s friends earlier this year. He’s a friendly little black floofball who became a little brother to another VOKRA kitty. He helped fill the void of a departed kitty and has become a huge part of their lives.

“Another one of my favourites is Elle, a dilute torbie who was over-the-top friendly and loved being held,” adds Paul. “She also went to a family who was having some tough times and immediately lifted everyone’s spirits.”

THANK YOU Paul for all the time, effort and love you put into ensuring all the moms and kittens in your care are set up for success! We can’t wait to hear more stories from the next 16 litters!

As a volunteer-driven non-profit, we clearly couldn’t do what we do without our extremely dedicated and hard working team of volunteers. Thank you to each and every one of you!

VOKRA’s always in need of volunteers and fosters. If you’re interested in volunteering with us visit our website at vokra.ca/volunteer or vokra.ca/fostering.

VOKRA’s 2018 AGM is coming up on October 18 and we’re actively recruiting for two new members to join the board as directors at large.

A director is fully informed on organizational matters and participates in the board’s deliberations and decisions in matters of policy, finance, programs, personnel and advocacy. They also review the bylaws and policy manual and recommend bylaw changes to the membership; participate in the development of VOKRA’s organizational plan and annual review; and assist in developing and maintaining positive relations among the board, committees, operations management team, volunteers and community to enhance VOKRA’s mission. Directors at large are required to attend monthly VOKRA board meeting, including preparation time to review materials.

Here’s what it takes to be a board member:

• Membership in the VOKRA society. You must be a member to be a board member
• Commitment to the work of the organization
• Knowledge and skills in one or more areas of board governance: policy, finance, programs, personnel, fundraising and advocacy
• Willingness to serve on committees and attend committee meetings
• Attendance at monthly board meetings + preparation time to review materials
• Attendance at meetings of assigned committees
• Attendance at Annual General Meetings
• Support of special events
• Support of and participation in fundraising events

If you’ve got what it takes and want to learn more email [email protected].

2018 VOKRA AGM
Thursday, October 18
7 to 8 p.m. (doors open at 6:15 p.m.)
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 1573 – 18 Avenue E., Vancouver

Anyone can attend our AGM, however in order to vote you need to become a society member. Membership is only $10 and is a great way to show your support for VOKRA.

RSVP & BECOME A SOCIETY MEMBER

Members will receive a full agenda package, but briefly, the points to be covered will be:

• Minutes of the Previous AGM, October 19, 2017
• Presentation: 2018 in Review
• Treasurer’s Report: 2017 Financial Statements
• Motion to set membership fee post October AGM
• Motions to change the bylaws (if any)
• Election of the Board members
• Thank you to the Outgoing Board
• New Business
• Meeting Adjourned

We have asked people to indicate whether or not they will be attending the meeting so we can get a rough idea of the number of people who will show up. People intending to run for Board positions must be present for both the nomination and the acceptance of the nomination. Under BC Society Act bylaws, no proxies are permitted.

I began volunteering with VOKRA four years ago as part of the gift card fundraising team. Before this time our cat, Kessey, seemed lonely and we decided to look for a friend for him. One of my co-workers recommended VOKRA to us and, after looking through the available cats, we chose Ziggy (originally known as Littlefoot) in June 2014. Ziggy’s been a great companion for Kessey and has brought so much happiness into our lives. We wanted to find a way to “give back”, and I’ve always loved to fundraise at work, so I began to help with the VOKRA gift card program.

My duties with the program include replying to emails from gift card supporters, preparing spreadsheets and submitting the order to our supplier. I also process banking transactions and order cards from other retailers. These duties were made easier because of my work in the finance department with my regular job. When I lived in the Lower Mainland, I would help process the order, mail the cards or have them ready to pick up at the Operations Centre, which was usually done twice a month. Now I’m retired and we live on Vancouver Island so I’m not involved with the physical handling of the cards.

Managing the gift card orders was a challenge in the beginning. In my first month we had the Walk for the Kitties event and I thought it would be a good idea to have a 50/50 draw. I remember Charis and I running around selling tickets and then frantically counting all the money so Karen could announce the winner. Shortly after this was our annual Great Grocery Stock-up promotion which turned out to be incredibly hectic – we had more than 70 orders in a two week period. The end result was a profit of $2500 for VOKRA and each year our profit increased due to the amazing support we receive throughout the year.

It’s rewarding to know I can do something to make a difference. I’m proud to be part of the entire team of VOKRA volunteers. I’ve never met such a dedicated group of people who care so much for our furry friends.

At the beginning of university, I wanted to get involved and volunteer to not only get experience but to meet others and make an impact. With me wanting to pursue a career in medicine the first thing that came to mind was a hospital. I started volunteering there but felt I couldn’t contribute towards anything significant or make any sort of meaningful impact. Thus, I started searching again and stumbled upon VOKRA. I had always loved animals so as I got to learn more about what this organization did and how they achieved it I knew it was the right fit and I wanted to be a part of it.

I was also fortunate enough to have gotten the position of recruitment coordinator allowing me to talk to a wide range of individuals. This is undoubtedly my favorite part of being a recruiter as I get to talk to and hear from people of different cultures and backgrounds. I’ve now heard countless stories about how cats or other animals have made a difference in people’s lives which I find to be truly inspiring. All these volunteers and their mutual love of animals and passion for helping is why I believe VOKRA has been able to do such a good job. The fact I get to play a part in introducing them to our organization is instrumental for me and something that always makes me smile.

In terms of my role, I started off as a recruitment coordinator and then in conjunction was also the team lead for over two years. I’ve really enjoyed both roles, as a recruiter I’m responsible for screening volunteer applications which involves interviewing volunteers and ultimately placing them in positions that fill our needs, but most importantly makes them happy. As a team lead, I was responsible for coordinating with other team leads to determine volunteer needs, making and refining volunteer positions along with applications, recruiting volunteers via postings and presentations, and finally ensuring our team was a cohesive unit that worked hard to fill all these gaps.

Over the years, I’ve formed many memories  I believe have shaped me into who I am today. The one that stands out is from last year when Shoaib, one of our recruitment coordinators, and I did a presentation at a senior care home. The purpose of this presentation was to recruit new volunteers. I don’t remember now how many ended up applying but what I do remember is this story of an older lady with her cat. She talked to us at the end about how having her cat was such a huge support network for her when she was severely depressed and without any family or friends. It just goes to show that not only are we helping cats but also indirectly making a positive impact on people. It makes me very proud to be a part of VOKRA when I hear how highly people think of this organization!

I am now volunteering as a recruitment coordinator while Michelle leads this team to hopefully become even better and efficient. However, I have learned a tremendous amount in my time here and met many altruistic individuals. I believe these to be a key part of why I got into medical school and something that I’ll always remember now that I embark on this journey!

THANK YOU Raj for all your hard work and dedication through the years. We’re so proud you’ve succeeded in being accepted into medical school at UBC and have no doubt you’re going to be a fabulous doctor!

As a volunteer-driven non-profit, we clearly couldn’t do what we do without our extremely dedicated and hard working team of volunteers. Thank you to each and every one of you!

VOKRA is always in need of volunteers, especially in the summer months. If you’re interested in volunteering with us visit our website at vokra.ca/volunteer.

This is my third year as a volunteer driver for VOKRA. My duties include food and litter deliveries, transporting cats and kittens between the Operations Centre, foster homes and vets, picking up donations and medications, and helping to transport the VOKRA booth to and from special events. Earlier this year I joined the trapping and recovery team after attending co-founder Maria’s trapping course and I’ve also converted a bedroom in my apartment to a foster home for shy and semi-feral kittens after attending co-founder Karen’s cat care course. I’ve just successfully socialized my first batch of three kittens that were trapped earlier this year, finding a forever home for one and the other two went into regular foster care. I made videos of the kittens during their socialization and posted them to YouTube for potential adopters to see and to help educate other people interested in fostering shy and semi-feral kittens. I’m looking forward to working with the next batch and will continue to document the process in hopes it helps other socializers or fosters. Additionally, I’m working on joining the I.T. and database team and the video and photography team. I am always looking for ways to help.

Glenn with his cat Luci

I’m a veteran and retired computer programmer and I originally joined VOKRA as a meaningful way to keep active and social. I was given a VOKRA flyer, from a friend, 11 years ago when I was wanting a buddy cat for my original resident tabby tom, but I found my Luci and so I didn’t adopt a cat at that time. I did find that flyer again three years ago when I wanted to start volunteering somewhere so I took it as a sign from the universe and applied to volunteer. Since drivers were in most demand, as still is the case today, I eagerly accepted the role and considerate the best use I put my car to.

I really enjoy helping all the wonderful people at VOKRA. I’ve never met such a selfless and caring group of people. From my experience I found many volunteer jobs have a lot of personal politics and attitudes attached to them, but at VOKRA it really is all about the kittens. From the people at Ops to the foster homes, I think everyone is a real hero and am just happy to help them do their good work.

My most memorable experience was early in my driving days, I was sent to recover two semi-feral 10-month-old kittens that became too much for the foster to handle. I was supposed to bring them back to Ops for evaluation, but when I arrived at the foster’s home, they hadn’t managed to get the cats into the carriers so I offered to help. Being new and thinking I had some sort of special talent for communicating with cats, since I’ve had many and they were all wonderful, I thought I could just outsmart them. Was I ever wrong! We got the first one into a carrier but the second one panicked and attacked my hands. My hands got all bit and scratched up and the cat still won. You learn a lot about yourself when you get beaten up by a kitten. From that day forward I always say I am just in training… always in training. Especially now that I have some videos online and people are saying they recognize me from the videos when I introduce myself and they think I am some kind of expert, one lady even called me a cat whisperer, but I just say “no, I’m still in training”

My most moving experience was just this year when I came into the Operations Centre to pick up food and litter for my regular delivery just as four ice cold newborn kittens were rushed in. I just stood in pure awe at the sight of these poor tiny kittens being brought back from the brink of death.

Last year I was at the right place at the right time to rescue a cat in my neighborhood who had been abandoned and was starving and in distress. I called Ops and told them about the situation and they said I could bring the cat in if I could catch it. A few neighbors who were worried about the cat helped me get it into a carrier and I brought it right in. He was so thin and dirty and I thought the cat had given up on itself. The next week I came into Ops and the cat was still there but I hardly recognized him. I even asked if that was the same cat I rescued. He was so clean I asked if they bathed him, but no, he had regained his dignity and cleaned himself up. It was so heartwarming to see him take pride in himself.

Working at VOKRA fulfills my natural desire to help serve my community (a remnant of my military training no doubt). I don’t really have any favorite cats, but my favorite part of my job is coming into Ops and tickling chins. I especially feel honoured when cats tagged with “Caution: Unpredictable” or “Warning: Bites” allow me to give them attention and they don’t live up to their reputation with me.

THANK YOU Glenn for your tireless efforts and dedication to the kitties! Your service is truly appreciated!

As a volunteer-driven non-profit, we clearly couldn’t do what we do without our extremely dedicated and hard working team of volunteers. Thank you to each and every one of you!

VOKRA is always in need of volunteers, especially as we head into the summer months. If you’re interested in volunteering with us visit our website at vokra.ca/volunteer.

Nicole has been described as “The Original VOKRA Surrey Volunteer”. For more than 10 years she’s spent countless hours helping to get homeless and abandoned cats off the streets.

“I first met Nicole in 2008 when I started trapping for VOKRA,” said fellow volunteer Mona Boucher. “She was dropping off a cat she had trapped at the vet hospital.  Back in those days we didn’t have a postop space so feral cats were set up in kennels at trapping sites to recover from spay/neuter before being released.”

Eventually Nicole built an insulated and heated shed in her backyard to house cats recovering from spays/neuters and a host of other ailments and injuries.

Amy, Hans & Itty are just a few of the cats in Nicole’s life.

“Many times we’ve had cats stacked to the ceiling after a night or several nights of trapping and she never complains,” says Mona. “Over the years hundreds and hundreds of cats and kittens have come through her shed.”

As Nicole has a veterinary background, she’s a natural fit to care for the frailest, injured and sick cats trapped in Surrey. She’s seen miraculous recoveries and a fair share of heartbreak, but over and over again she puts her heart on the line to care for the cats in the greatest need.

Although Nicole doesn’t trap much these days, from time-to-time stray cats in need of help find their way to her yard.  She’s also quick to respond when there’s a cat in distress – up a tree or caught in a space where they can’t get out.

“Like most of us involved with VOKRA, a few cats have stolen Nicole’s heart and moved into her home,” said Mona. “Some of them are still with her today and some of them have crossed the rainbow bridge. She cares for her own cats and the rescued cats while simultaneously working and caring for her husband and two children. She’s an inspiration.”

In Nicole’s own words, “Everyday little things are done and add up to huge changes. Colonies fixed and fed, homeless strays warm in a bed again, lots of full bellies and raising the care and awareness of owned and stray cats. I’ve entered abandoned houses and left with cats and fish, I have dug up the dirt under concrete stairs to get an injured kitty, stood below a tree and prayed for the tree guy and the cat, a friend got stuck in a recycling bin while helping me get some kittens that had fell in, loaded my car to the bump stops with free cat donations, driven thousands of kilometers, scooped millions of poops, and cleaned just as many kennels. All of these things have accumulated to amazing changes in so many lives, including my own. It is an honor to be recognized but it is a gift to be part of VOKRA. I’ve been supported by so many amazing ladies.”

“I’ve learned so much from Nicole over the years and I look forward to many more years and many, many more kitty lives changed for the better,” said Mona. “Nicole is simply awesome!”

We couldn’t agree more! THANK YOU so much Nicole for your dedication. VOKRA was built through the hard work of volunteers just like you and we can’t thank you enough.

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.

Cynthia first started volunteering with VOKRA back in the summer of 2010 when we were still headquartered in co-founder Karen’s basement. Since then she’s witnessed the amazing growth of the organization and our move into a shiny new Operations Centre.

Within Cynthia’s first week of volunteering Karen, one of our master persuaders, had also talked her into fostering two small feral kittens.

“It was the height of kitten season and Karen’s basement was overflowing with kitties needing a home,” explains Cynthia. “How could I say no to Karen?”

Like many fosters, Cynthia “foster failed” on her first try and became a pet parent to fur-babies Tony and Cleo, who will be eight years old this month.

Cynthia has many memories of kitties she’s fallen in love with during her time volunteering with VOKRA. One of the cats who will stay in her heart forever is Chance the Wobbler, a cat with mobility issues who lived at Karen’s for a long time.

Jorge is patiently waiting for a new foster to come along

There’s also Charlie, who lived at Ops after being diagnosed with cancer, and Jorge, a sweet senior who is patiently waiting at the Centre for a new foster home. And there’s also Beamer, a blind and deaf kitten who Cynthia spent many hours playing with when he first arrived.

“There are way too many to count them all,” said Cynthia. “Everyone is special.”

Since VOKRA moved into our Operations Center, Cynthia has spent most of her cat care time in the T-N-R room.

“My experience with feral cats has been very rewarding and I have certainly learned a lot from (co-founder) Maria when helping her with some the wilder cats,” Cynthia explains. “I have done my best to adopt Maria’s calm and patient nature with the cats and now I look forward to caring for those ‘terrible’ cats other people might be afraid to approach.”

Cynthia goes on to say, “Being with VOKRA for so many years has given me the opportunity to work with and get to know some great people and I have been able to pass on what I have learned by mentoring several new volunteers.”

Volunteering for VOKRA has been a fantastic experience and I hope to be around for many years to come.

Cynthia  Reed

Thank you so much Cynthia for all your dedication to the kitties and the many, many hours you’ve spent volunteering. We truly appreciate your support and also hope you’ll be around for many years to come!

As a volunteer-driven non-profit, we clearly couldn’t do what we do without our extremely dedicated and hard working team of volunteers. Thank you to each and every one of you!

If you’re interested in volunteering with us visit our website at vokra.ca/volunteer.