Some of the volunteers honoured in this years' SPCA recognition awards have shared the "rewarding" sense of purpose they feel in giving back, and urged others of all ages to try it too.
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) chief executive Todd Westwood said the six awards recognise the "vital" work done by thousands of volunteers across the country toward animal welfare.
"The work is huge and SPCA owes an enormous debt of gratitude to all our volunteers and everyone who supports us. To the winners, we are so grateful to you, and I hope you feel extra special and appreciated by all of us," he said.
Kytti Kane, 23, said it was "really cool" to find out she had been named as the recipient of the Young Volunteer Award.
"I was a bit nervous because you don't always get a call from the CEO unless you're in trouble, you know, and I was trying to think of, like, all the things I must have done wrong," she laughed.
She said staff from her Dunedin centre "all came running out" after she was told on the phone she had not just been nominated, but won.
"We're all giving each other hugs and stuff like that. It was really, really cool."
Kane said working with animals had "really helped" with her ADHD and autism, as well as a brain disorder called functional neurological disorder, which meant her fight or flight response was more active and could cause heightened anxiety and stress.
"Human body language is really, really hard to read. A lot of people, especially my age, can use a lot of sarcasm or passive aggressiveness, whereas animals don't really do that.
"If the dog is mad at you, they're gonna tell you. Same with the cat," she laughed.
She said volunteering gives her "a sense of purpose".
"I find that I'm struggling a lot with working, especially as a student with my disability. I feel like I can't really... I'm not able to hold down a full-time job, as much as I would like to.
"So especially with studying and working at the SPCA, it gives me a sense of giving back to the community, you know, I'm helping out and it gives me something to do."
She said a lot of young people who may be flatting aren't allowed pets or cannot commit to an animal for the long term, and encouraged them to try volunteering.
"I feel like especially with Gen Z... There's a big culture of 'if I'm not getting paid to do it, I'm not gonna do it.' And I think that especially as a young person, it gives me the sense of responsibility and it gives me like a way to work hard at something in a safe environment."
Kane said the SPCA was "such a safe place" for people with disabilities like herself, and said the culture in which "everyone is there for the same purpose" was very positive.
"To me, I feel like I'm just kind of doing what everyone else would be doing. Like my mum always raised me to put your all into it, if you commit to something, you commit to it. Even if you don't like it all the time."
A life-long love affair with helping animals
The SPCA also recognised Felicity Bowden with its Devoted Volunteer Award, describing her as "a stalwart of the SPCA Māngere Centre's cat area" who had dedicated over 30 years to volunteering.
"I was rather stunned and thought, 'crikey, they must have millions of other people that would be far more deserving of the award!' But I was very thankful," the 73-year-old told 1News.
Bowden said she has "just kept going" since she first began volunteering alongside her neighbour in January, 1991.
"Obviously its changed quite a bit over that period of time, especially with health and safety, but yeah I just keep going and going."
She said over the years the cattery had "gotten busier," particularly following Covid-19 lockdowns when people went back to work and realised they could no longer care for the animals they adopted.
"A lot of those animals then ended up coming back to the SPCA and so things like that were really, you know, heartbreaking from the animals point of view."
She said every now and again she thinks she may be "getting too old to do this" but said she has continued because the work is "very rewarding".
"I think probably the most satisfying thing is seeing a cat or kitten go to nice people. And knowing that they will look after them properly."
She said a lot of young people "aren't interested in volunteering" and is glad to see people on the "other end" of the age spectrum, such as Kane, being recognised for their hard work.
"It's good to have young people coming through [volunteering], because you find that a lot of the people out there are are older people, but there are more younger ones coming through and that's great."
2024 SPCA Purina National Volunteer Awards winners:
Young Volunteer – Kytti Kane - Dunedin
Devoted Volunteer - Felicity Bowden – Māngere
Fantastic Foster Family – Mel Knapp - Dunedin
Going the Extra Mile – Janet Levy - Wellington
Outstanding Op-shop Team – Cambridge
Sensational Centre Team – Christchurch
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