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Big Cat Rescue’s volunteers are essential to the successful operation of the sanctuary. The Volunteer Committee recognizes exceptional volunteers in a variety of ways.
SAVE: The SAVE (Scratch’s Award for Volunteer Excellence) is awarded monthly to a volunteer that has made a positive impact on the sanctuary. (Scratch was a much beloved cougar that once lived at the sanctuary before passing away at the age of 29. He was the oldest cougar in captivity to date. The SAVE was so named by it’s first recipient Senior Keeper Julie Hanan.)
A $1,000 donation will be made to wild cat conservation in honor of the SAVE award recipient. The recipient will also receive a 6″ plaque award at our annual Volunteer Awards Ceremony. A second 6″ plaque will be displayed permanently at the sanctuary. Any volunteer may nominate a recipient for the SAVE by sending an email to Committee@bigcatrescue.org and giving a little information as to why the volunteer they are nominating deserves the award.STARS Awards: Each month the Volunteer Committee will pull the hourly report. Any volunteer that has put in 25% more than the minimum required hours for their level will be added to the STARS drawing. Their will be two drawing pools one for Keeper and one for Partner. The Keeper and Partner STAR will be selected at random and will receive a special prize. Once a Keeper or Partner has been selected as a winner he or she will be removed from the drawing pool for the year. Staff members are eligible for the STARS award. A STARS award will also be given each month to; an Intern will be selected by the Operations manager and an Advocat will be selected by the Gift Shop Manager. Quarterly a Junior Volunteer will be selected by the Junior Volunteer Program Manager to receive the STARS award. STARS Award prizes vary each year, but may include; Conservation Support: Each year Big Cat Rescue makes a donation to conservation projects with a focus on wild cats in honor of all Big Cat Rescue volunteers. Group Photos: Group photos are taken at the Annual Volunteer Awards Ceremony, groups include volunteers that have served; less than 1 year, 1-4 years, 5-9 years, and over 10 years as well as an intern group photo. Birthday Cards: The Volunteer Committee has set up a signature to be used via SendOutCards and imports all volunteer contact information into the system. Since the members of the Volunteer Committee rotate, the signature “The Volunteer Committee” will be used instead of individuals names. Private and Comp Tours by Volunteers: Private and Comp Tours by Volunteers: A volunteer may guide a private Day or Kids Tour for their family or friends if they are a certified Tour Guide or Kids Tour Guide, depending on the tour. All Day Tour/Kids Tour Policies apply. The volunteer must get approval in advance (at least one week) from the Operations Manager and must post the tour information on the Events Calendar. The volunteer may use their 10% discount towards the admission for the tour or they may provide complimentary passes that they have acquired through the volunteer program to their guests. Regular Day Tour/Kids Tour admission rates apply to these tours. Declining Awards: If a volunteer does not want to use their award or reward for themselves they may give that award to any volunteer they see fit. Big Cat Memorial Plaques: We have a wonderful donor who has a standing offer to fund memorial plaques as a resident passes in honor of volunteers who have listed that cat as their favorite on their Volgistics Profile. We will do our best to acknowledge volunteers who had a special relationship with a particular cat, but please understand that we also must spread the recognition around if several cats are listed as favorites. If your name is not listed on the memorial it will be because either; that cat was not listed as your favorite at the time the plaque was made, your name has already been listed on other plaques and others who listed that cat have not been listed on a plaque yet, or you have listed additional cats as your favorites who do not have several volunteers who have chosen them. If your name is not listed please do not take offence. We want to honor the cats and share their tributes among the volunteers who loved them. In order to produce these memorials in a timely fashion and give the volunteers time to grieve their loss we have will be implementing the following protocol. When a cat passes on the donor will fund the memorial plaque. Staff will then select a number of those volunteers who have listed that cat as their favorite and contact them regarding the inscription on the plaque. An inscription will be prepared and emailed to those volunteers who can then get together and decide if they would like any changes to the wording. The sooner that the wording can be agreed upon the better so the plaques can be made to honor the cat. However it is understandable that these decisions will be difficult and each volunteer will need a different amount of time to process their grief. If no edits are submitted by 30 days the plaque will be made with the suggested wording by staff. Please make sure that you keep your favorite cats updated in your Volgistics Profile. This information will not only assist us with creating these memorials, but is also used to provide you with awards and gifts associated with your favorites. To update your favorite cat: Log in to the Big Cat Rescuer Information Center You will be directed to a login screen where you will enter your firstname.lastname@bigcatrescue.org email address and your password. Simply click on the tabs at the top of the screen titled My Profile. Fill in or update your Favorite Cat and Favorite Species. To save your updates simply click any of the green Save buttons on the page. You can return to this page at any time to update and of your information. |
12. Rewards & Recognition
Help Feed Big Cats
One of the best ways to help is through general donations that can be used however it is most needed at the time.To make a general donation just click the Donate Now button below. This is the best way to give as it has the lowest credit card processing fees and is immediate help for the cats.
If you prefer to donate via Pay Pal, please use this link: Pay Pal
