The Lori Kauffman Volunteer Of The Month Award

Debbie Dupont is the recipient of the January 2010 Lori Kauffman Volunteer of the Month Award

Congratulations to Debbie Dupont, our January Volunteer of the Month! Debbie is an adoption consultant and conducts home checks for prospective adopters. Debbie found GRRA when she and her husband were looking for another dog following the death of her beloved Rosie in 2006. They adopted Joey on Memorial Day, 2006. Joey has made several appearances in the GRRA calendars since then.

Debbie was so impressed with GRRA that she wanted to begin volunteering. So, she began conducting home checks. After a while, Debbie and her husband wanted to make a bigger impact and realized that fostering dogs would be a good way to do that. Debbie envisioned being able to help hundreds of dogs by opening her home to them until they found their forever homes. The first fostered dog was the most difficult to give up, but Debbie liked the fact that as the foster she had the final say in who adopted each dog.

In December, 2007, Debbie began fostering Bart, a sick, underweight, shaved golden. By January, Bart was beginning to recover from his ailments and was also finding a place in Debbie's husband's heart who suggested that they adopt Bart. Bart is the 2010 GRRA Calendar cover boy! Debbie is pictured at right with Joey and Bart.

Even though Debbie is no longer a foster, she still volunteers as an adoption consultant and enjoys being involved in the adoption process. On Christmas Day, 2009, Debbie received an e-mail from a family who adopted one of her fosters a year ago. She hadn't heard from them since shortly after the adoption, and they were writing to let her know the dog was doing well and how much they loved him! Knowing a dog has been placed with a loving family is the most rewarding part of volunteering for Debbie.

Thank you, Debbie, for all you do for GRRA and the dogs!

Lori Kauffman, who passed away in 2007, was a GRRA™ volunteer who wanted to ensure that GRRA™ continued to do its valuable work. Lori wanted people to know, "Dogs are not disposable. Having a dog is a lifelong commitment. They are an equal part of the family".

If you are aware of a volunteer's efforts that exemplify what is needed to make our volunteer organization survive and thrive, please send a note to volunteer@grra.com. Monthly Nominations are due by the 17th of each month. Click here to see previous award winners.