Giving Five to the Community

When I moved away for graduate school and was far from my friends and family, one of the first things I did was to adopt a cat from the Humane Society in Boulder, Colo., the city where I was living.

The cat was a real sweetie, her name was Cassidy—as in hop-a-long—since she had only three legs. Caring for a pet takes a lot of time, there is no doubt. But, coming home to my apartment was so much more inviting with that crazy cat waiting to happily greet me.

Cassidy is chasing mice in a better place now. But, after her there have been other adoptions, which was the reason I decided to give some time on Thursday at .

At Patch we are encouraged to spend time five days out of the year giving back in the community. I spent a few hours at the shelter. I helped organize some items and then I was given the chance to spend some time playing and petting the cats. Sounds like a simple task and it was, but what was clear was how much the little critters just wanted some love.

Take Jay for instance. The kitten was sitting in a “cuties” clementine box when I saw him. I was told he loved to play, so I went on in. At first he was hesitant, but soon I coaxed him out of the box and he began to go after the toy. After some playtime he climbed in my lap and just snuggled with me. His purring made me sad that I couldn’t stay all day.

In one of the other rooms where the cats are free roaming, a white cat  seemed to beckon to me. She looked so sad, so I sat down and she soon began to show me affection. I gave her some pats and then she sat down right on my arm, as if to say, “please, don’t leave.” But, I couldn’t stay.

If I could I would bring them all home. But, that isn’t possible.

I am thankful to A.D.O.P.T. for letting me spend some time at the shelter and I am also thankful for all the wonderful volunteers at A.D.O.P.T. who care for the dogs and cats and keep the shelter going.

It is wonderful to live in a community like Naperville and DuPage County, which has so many wonderful people giving back to the many great nonprofits and philanthropic organizations, doing their part to help others in the community.

Lastly, I am thankful to work for a company that believes in giving back. Finding time is always difficult when life is so busy, but every time I help out I find it extremely rewarding and my day is better for it.