The Spirit of Giving

This is the third post in a four part series in partnership with Dawn dishwashing liquid {you can read the first two posts here and here}.  This series is aimed at bringing awareness to the wildlife rescue rehabilitation centers that Dawn supports and  honoring the many amazing volunteers that contribute to this cause.  As always, opinions are 100% my own.

The busy holiday rush is now upon us and as much as I love all of the holiday activities, sometimes it can be difficult to remember the true spirit of the season.  Each year, I always try to spend some time with the kids giving back to the community in some way {you can see our 12 Days of Giving tree here}.  We will gather up gently used toys and buy a few new ones to give to families that are unable to afford these items, take food down to the food bank, or make some goodies to deliver to our friends and neighbors.  There are many different ways that you can give, but I think that one of the most precious things that we have to give is ourselves  – the gift of our time, the gift of our energy, and the gift of our knowledge and skills.

A couple of months ago, I had the chance to visit The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California during Dawn’s Day in the Wildlife.  It was an amazing experience and I was reminded of how people can make a difference in the world just by being giving of themselves.

{Photo Credit: Susan Goldman}

While getting to see the sea lions was definitely one of the highlights of my trip, it was truly inspiring to be able to meet and talk with some of the 1100 volunteers that make TMMC possible.  These volunteers devote countless hours of their time to rescuing and rehabilitating sick and injured sea mammals and many of them having been volunteering their time for years. It is not always the most glamorous role, but it is definitely one that makes a huge difference in the thousands of sea animals that are rescued each year.

{Photo Credit: Susan Goldman}

During the busy months, volunteers may spend a whole 12 hour shift, sorting through frozen fish and preparing food for all of the animals.  Even after 10 minutes, my fingers were numb and {as you can tell by my face!} it was not the most pleasant of tasks. 😉

{Photo Credit: Susan Goldman}

During our visit, we were all paired up with a volunteer from the center and I had a chance to spend some one on one time with Carolyne, who had been volunteering at The Marine Mammal Center for about 6 months.  After an initial month of volunteering washing dishes, Carolyne was added to one of the weekly animal care crews and was working with the elephant seals and sea lions.  Her daily tasks during a typical shift included preparing food, feeding the animals, and scrubbing out the pens and crates.

{Photo Credit: Susan Goldman}

I had a chance to put on some of their stylish workwear {not figure flattering!} and join Carolyn in some of her activities.  We cleaned some of the empty pens…

{Photo Credit: Susan Goldman}

…and then I watched Carolyne and one of the veterinary students clean out one of the pens that was being occupied by a sea lion.

The volunteers use those boards as a barrier between the animals and themselves and try to interact with the animals as little as possible.   As tempting as it is to want to run up and cuddle these adorable creatures {especially the cute little baby ones!}, the volunteers do not want them to get accustomed to human interactions as this can be detrimental to them when they are returned to the wild. This guy, however, seemed quite amused by the whole procedure and kept moving around the pen to see what was going on.

After we were finished I had a few minutes to ask Carloyne some questions about her experiences volunteering at The Marine Mammal Center.  Check out the video below for all of the details and to learn about her most rewarding experience.

Carolyne and the other volunteers talked a lot about their passion for the animals and how much they loved volunteering at The Marine Mammal Center.  And, if you ever doubted how much joy there was in giving, you only needed to see the face of this little guy when he was released!

{Photo Credit: Susan Goldman}

As the holidays approach, I hope that you are able to spend some time reflecting on the spirit of the season and are able to give in any way that you can.  If you live in the Sausalito area, be sure to check out The Marine Mammal Center in person.  It is a great experience for both kids and adults and will definitely open your eyes to the joys of giving!