Manny M. has been a volunteer for only 7 short months but has already logged more than 400 volunteer hours! He truly found his “place” when he landed at AAWL and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have him as part of our volunteer family. Manny has achieved one of the highest rankings when volunteering with our shelter dogs, a K3 volunteer, and is also a Mentor to new volunteers and a Playgroup Lead. For some volunteers coming into the shelter can be an overwhelming environment that can leave people feeling lost. Manny is not one of those volunteers! He came in and immediately got involved in every area of the shelter so he could pinpoint where he was needed most - that landed him on mentoring and playgroups. Manny always has a smiling face, a cheerful personality, and is SUPERB at following rules and protocols so he is perfect to train new volunteers coming to the shelter – although his training classes might run a bit long because he just loves to chat. The position of Playgroup Lead was a harder role for Manny to tackle but he buckled down and absorbed all the knowledge and feedback he could from more experienced volunteer leads and staff. The position of Playgroup Lead requires you to be extremely calm and methodical in tense doggie situations but also laid-back and relaxed enough to trust that the dogs within playgroup will manage themselves to a certain degree. This position comes with a huge amount of responsibility but is also highly rewarding. We started the Dogs Playing for Life program in April 2017 and Manny is the first new Playgroup Lead was have added since it’s inception – which speaks volumes for the level trust we have in his skill sets. We could go on and go about Manny and how amazing he is work with and how dedicated he is to the animals but we’d be here all day! Instead we’ll just say thank you, Manny. You’re the best, man.
