Hi my fuzzy friends. Even if you aren’t a dog or cat, welcome! It is Ellie Mae here ready to share with you a thought that has been tugging at me for a while now.

i don’t know if you all are aware, but i am a giver. i had nine puppies, so i guess that may be obvious? None-the-less, i think all people at their core are givers. For sure all dogs are. Cats are...as long as you smell of fresh fish or catnip. Oh, alright, maybe in other circumstances too. (i like to tease cats cuz they get all annoyed and grumpy. It’s funny!)

Anyway… there is this thought that has been buzzing around my ears for a while now. i thought it was a fly, but nope. It was actually a thought about giving back. More accurately, volunteering, as a way to give back. i have to admit, before i was saved, i never thought about volunteering or giving back at all. i guess it is a little hard to give back when you are starving on the streets and wondering how to stay safe. However, i realize now that volunteering isn’t what you do cuz it’s convenient or because you have extra time on your paws. In fact, it is quite the opposite! Giving back is about making a decision to help because it is needed. Kinda simple, but those are the kind of thoughts i have.

When i told the girl who types for me (cuz sometimes my nails get too long!) that i wanted to do a blog on volunteering, she said she would gather some information from Google. i haven’t met Google yet. He doesn’t hang out at the dark park i go to? i am not sure why he knows so much, but maybe he goes to a prestigious dog training school? None-the-less he hooked us up with some juicy tidbits.

Apparently, there are tons of great reasons to volunteer! Like i mentioned, i am simple. So today you are going to get five. Not the top five. The five Google gave us. i didn’t want to make him feel less than so we are just sticking with these. (Shhhh….Google might be sensitive?) His companion, Mark Horoszowski, is who told Google about these five, but that all gets very school-like and boring.

Did you know that volunteering has been studied for the last 2,500+ years?! That is even longer than a cat’s life! I know, right? Amazing. Recently, but i don’t think it has anything to do with me deciding to write about it, there have been a slew of new studies measuring the surprising benefits of volunteering. i think people do studies so they can get humans to listen. All you have to do with a dog is say, “Hey, come here and help me.” Dogs are just kinda easy that way. Well…unless they are distracted or over-stimulated. Then, you may have to call a meeting to get things going again.

i don’t usually quote others cuz i kind of like my own quotes, but this just seemed appropriate:

“One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always

benefits more than he or she who IS served.” – Gordon Hinckle

Gordon seems to know something about this! If i serve, i feel uber great. Who doesn’t like that math?

Here are Mark’s and Google’s five chosen benefits of volunteering:

1. Volunteering time makes you feel like you have more time.

Yip. It is true. A professor lady at Wharton, Cassie Mogilner, wrote in the Harvard Business Review that her research found “those who volunteer their time feel like they have more of it.” This is similar to other research that shows when people DONATE , they feel wealthier. Not to make a huge leap here, but if you want to donate time and money to “Cuz i Matter,” you will feel richer and gain time! That sounds like more math that you might like?

2. Volunteering helps you develop new skills.

Developing new skills can be a great thing in many ways. Getting to do stuff you have never tried before can be exciting (like writing a blog!). Plus, when you learn while volunteering, it is free and you are surrounded by people who want you to be successful. Even if you aren’t sure what you can do, showing up is all that is required. The more you practice, the better you do. That is why you keep showing up! Volunteering is usually for organizations that need help to achieve their missions. If you are a dog, though, it might be hard to get rides. So you can volunteer even at home. i have started to volunteer to help with the housework. My mom works hard, and she is the kind of person who is also a volunteer and a giver. So, the two main skills i am working on are picking up dropped food quickly so mom doesn’t have to, and protecting her from that really loud, short guy that lives in the closet. He has his name printed on his body, which is very weird. i don’t know why Hoover has to be so loud! Mom seems very happy when i step in to quiet Hoover down. i think it is funny when she yells at Hoover to "calm down and be quiet!" He doesn’t listen all of the time, but he eventually seems to get the point and disappears into the closet.

Enough about my volunteering; what do you do well? What are some skills you would like to learn or practice? Do you like to hug dogs? Maybe you like giving belly rubs or ear scratches to fluffy cat heads? Have you ever helped set up a table or a canopy? i haven’t done the canopy thing cuz i lack thumbs. You might be really good at it…if you have thumbs? Having thumbs would be really cool. i would be able to hang posters, blow up balloons, do all my own typing…oh fine. i just got nudged and told to focus. Ooops. On to number three.

3. Volunteering your body helps you have a healthier body.

If you volunteer with “Cuz i Matter," you will feel better! i didn’t make this up. I know i got healthy when i began hanging out with this crazy crew of people. The real proof, though, is from the Corporation for National & Community Service. They noted: “Research demonstrates that volunteering leads to better health… those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer.” If you want to be around cool, fun people who like junk you like, volunteering is one way to do that. Health is really important. When it is almost taken away from you, you really get it. Volunteers saved my life. Here is me when i was found. It is a little hard to look at, so be careful….

Volunteering may be good for your health, but it is also good for mine. (Thank you angel mom and dad who saved me.)

4. Volunteering your experience helps build your experience.

Isn’t this what life is all about? Experiences? Oh, wait. That is not what this means. Just sec. Ohhhh, experience – offering what you have done in the past to other people. So, i could offer my experience of having babies to another dog that is thinking it is time. My experience says… Spay and Neuter is a much better option! Don’t get me wrong. i love my sweet hounds. But there are so many animals in need that without the love of the CiMAR volunteers, none of my babies would have lived. The kind of experience CiMAR could help you share is getting people like you excited about volunteering. You could take off where my blog article ends? Wanna do that? Are you a dog and cat people person? Do you seem to bond with those that also love animals? Do you want to play a role in finding homes for dogs like me? We will use whatever experience you have and give you a whole lot of puppy kisses in return.

The last one is my favorite. It speaks to what i believe we all need more than anything in the world. It also is exactly what you get when you volunteer with “Cuz i Matter.”

5. Volunteering your love makes you feel more love.

Love isn’t easy to measure. It is mainly something you feel and cannot describe. How do you know when you are feeling love? For me i get this buzzy kind of feeling in my chest, prolly my heart, but it feels all excited and happy and well, whippy-doolie. My tail begins to wag a little out of control. Sometimes it is moving so fast that my butt swings me around. Does that happen to you? Anyway, researchers at the London School of Economics examined the relationship between volunteering and measures of happiness. What they found is “the more people volunteered (with dogs and cats --- that is my contribution to this factual information), the happier they were. Volunteering builds empathy, strengthens social bonds and makes you smile -- all factors that increase the feeling of love!”

Wow!! We are offering such an amazing opportunity at CiMAR! If you come play with all of us at fundraisers and adoption events or you help us find more ‘dog and cat people’ people it can make you healthier, increase your skills, allow you to use your experience, and most of all, FEEL MORE LOVE!!!

Sound good? Come on and play with us. We have a special event this coming Saturday, July 23rd, “Xmas in July.” We also have a painting party coming up, Howly Hours every third Friday of the month at the Doghouse Drinkery, National Dog Day, a BBQ cook-off and a Halloween costume party… There will be more fun than you can imagine. Just check out the calendar for events to attend (http://www.cuzimatter.org/come-play-with-us). Oh....don’t forget, though, if you want to help with setting up canopies, you do need thumbs.

Love Always,

Got TIME? Want More...Read on!

Ellie Mae

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