Julia has been volunteering in the Lort Smith laundry since 2015. She lives locally and wanted to join a community-based organisation.

“I specifically wanted to volunteer at Lort Smith because I am an animal lover, and at the time had no pets of my own – except my goldfish Freddie,” says Julia.

Julia is a qualified lawyer who works in insurance for the state government. Yet she still finds the time to volunteer.

“We are all so busy. It’s easy to say that we ‘don’t have the time’ to spare for activities such as volunteering. But the good that it brings to your community and to your own self is worth making the effort – and in the case of Lort Smith, the good we do for so many animals and their carers,” shares Julia.

Julia’s favourite part of volunteering is hanging out with the animals. She considers this her reward for washing dirty laundry and then having to fold all it!

Julia remembers her volunteer induction being a very welcoming process. Since then she has always been provided with support when she needs it – whether that be during a shift or via email/phone with the volunteer engagement team.

“The most rewarding and meaningful part of volunteering for me is when I start my weekly shift. I like to find out which animals have been adopted during the week. When I am spending time with the animals, I often say to them ‘Be good and play nice. I do not want to see you here when I come back next week.’ I would like to think that they listen to me!” laughs Julia.

Julia you have an enormous impact on the day-to-day running of Lort Smith. Laundry is an integral part of the organisation’s operations, albeit its not glamorous. Thank you for donating your time and imparting such important advice on our shelter animals.