Janett

Janett was cruising the internet one day looking for volunteer opportunities to work with wild animals. Fortunately for AFA, she stumbled across our site and decided to give us a try. Afterall, the two closest zoos are quite a haul for this Beecher resident! Finding a dedicated volunteer is quite a challenge, but we definitely found one in Janett. She's been with us since February 2001.
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Doreen

Doreen (aka Dee Dee or Debbie) began volunteering for AFA in late August 2002. We have her ferrets to thank!!! Here's Doreen's story in her very own words. It was just too cute to edit. Doreen is like this in person too. She's the most animated volunteer we have!
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Mellissa

Bio Forthcoming.

Lydia

Lydia first heard of Animals for Awareness from friends that had attended a local "furry" convention, Midwest Furfest. The convention has a tradition of inviting an animal- oriented charity each year with special events and fundraisers aimed to benefit the charity of choice. "I first met Kim through my boyfriend, who was the charity liason for the convention in 2002. I had heard about AFA from the previous year, but was totally unprepared for the reality."

When Kim asked the MFF staff if anyone was interested in volunteering as AFA's webmaster, Lydia happily offered her services.

Christy

We adore all of our volunteers, but Christy, who lives in Tinley Park, adds her own flavor to the goings on at AFA. Christy heard about AFA through Kim and David and has been volunteering on and off since 2001. David was her college professor and her mentor in the substance abuse program where she worked side by side with him as an intern. We’ve been great friends ever since. Like all of our volunteers, Christy is considered family.
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Ally

Beecher resident Ally heard about AFA from our faithful volunteer Janett. Now Ally, who's sponsored by Janett, has been hanging out with AFA since she saw us perform an educational program at the Beecher Public Library in early 2005. Ally, who seems to be the busiest 15 year old we know, comes out on Sundays whenever she gets some free time. She's hardworking and always gets the job done; cleaning cages, feeding the animals and grooming the miniature horses. Her favorite animal is Kodiak the lynx, but she also likes the hedgehogs and the other wild cats.
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Jaime

We could write an entire book on what Jaime's already done and continues to do for AFA! She's one of the most reliable and consistent volunteers we have, and she almost always shows up with a smile on her face! This Blue Island resident started with AFA back on August 2004 when she heard about us through another GSU student who was also volunteering. Thanks, Michelle!! Although she's severely allergic to almost all of the animals we have, she doesn't hesitate to do what needs to get done. We love her even with her sneezing attacks and runny nose!
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Matt

Bio Forthcoming

Meghan

Meghan commutes to Palos Park from her new house in Homewood whenever she has a spare hour or so. This can be quite a challenge for her, as she's in the Army Reserves and works full time as a firefighter and paramedic. When she's not doing that, she's working as a horseback riding trainer and feverishly pursuing her Master's degree in Public Administration. Needless to say, her plate is overflowing.
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Michelle

Bio Forthcoming

Meg

Meg was cruising the internet one day when she came across AFA. She immediately knew she wanted to check us out, and in February of 2001 Meg joined us for good. In fact, she and Janett started together on the very same... interesting day.
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April

Back in November 2006 after searching the net for a while, April found Animals for Awareness and decided immediately that she wanted to help. Knowing she had little money she could donate, she wanted to help out other ways, so she wanted to volunteer and decided she was going to go for it. After contacting Kim, she went for her orientation and has been hooked ever since.
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Nikki

Nikki Russell comes all the way from Bridgeview, IL to volunteer for AFA, and she's been doing it since the fall of 2006 at the tender age of 14 - an 8th grader. She doesn't know what she wants to do when she grows up, but she admits she definitely wants to do something with animals. She doesn't think she'll have any kids, but lots of pets, she's sure of! Right now she shares her life with 2 dogs. Tipsy is a black lab/cane Corso mastiff mix and Cody is a blonde cairn terrier. Nikki also has 2 finches, Gadget and Gizmo, and a beta fish named Steve-O.
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