Lakeshore PAWS welcomed their long list of volunteers to their new location on Wednesday for a Volunteer Appreciation Party to celebrate those from the community who donate their time and energy to further the mission of the non-profit organization.
“It’s a great way to get all of our volunteers together and celebrate how far we’ve come,” said Lakeshore PAWS co-founder, Molly Judd. “A lot of the volunteers come at different times and they don’t really know each other,” Judd said. “We all have the same passion so it’s nice to have everyone together.”
Recently, Lakeshore PAWS relocated to a bigger facility on Evans Avenue, just west of Highway 2, in Valparaiso and the work of volunteers played a huge role in making that possible.
“It’s a work in progress but it’s coming along,” Judd said. “So many volunteers have come to help us set up, move things around, hang things on the walls. People have come and helped out so much. They get here and just say ‘What do you need me to do?’. We’ve had some extremely generous people come out and help us. It’s been overwhelming.”
Jeanne Sommer, co-founder of Lakeshore PAWS, spoke about the organization and the new 8000 sq/ft location and how it will allow them to have a greater impact on rescuing, fostering and finding homes for dogs from around Porter County.
“It’s perfect!” said Sommer. “We were growing too big and needed a larger facility. My husband is in commercial real estate and he came home one day and said he thinks he found the perfect building for us. Things happen for a reason and it’s really been a blessing.”
“We’ve had several groups of people reach out to us,” Sommer said. “Hospice and VNA has reached out to us about getting dogs involved in their programs because dogs naturally help people in all situations. That’s going to be something we’ll be looking to expand upon and get more involved with.”
Some of the major work that went into the new location was done by Chad Rodriguez and his wife Audrey, who first got involved with Lakeshore PAWS after they were researching local rescue locations in the region.
“When I was researching dog rescues I ran across Lakeshore PAWS and we didn’t know they existed,” Audrey said. “We thought ‘Oh awesome!’ and they were right down the road from my house so we started volunteering. I just fell in love with the people, their concept and their mission, and how they started. They have a really good community response. Anyone I mention Lakeshore PAWS to they say ‘We love them!’”
Since 2011 Lakeshore PAWS has rescued and found homes for over 1700 dogs. The organization regularly holds adopting events around Porter County and will be at Pet Supply Plus in Portage on January 8th from 5pm-7pm and January 30th from 10am-1pm. They will also be at Bargain Barn in Valparaiso on January 16th from 10-1pm. To get involved, go to: http://www.lakeshorepaws.org/.