The Lori Kauffman Volunteer Of The Month Award

Julie Sutton is the recipient of the July 2010 Lori Kauffman Volunteer of the Month Award

Congratulations to Julie Sutton, our July Volunteer of the Month! Julie was nominated because of her ongoing dedication to the Treasury team and her willingness to lend a hand in other areas when needed.

Julie began volunteering with GRRA a little over two years ago. "The first thing my husband, Trey, and I did was foster," she says. "But shortly thereafter, I got involved with the Treasury team." Julie is a CPA by trade and felt this was a good way to use her professional skills to help the animals.

By managing the PayPal portion of the accounting division, Julie follows a regime, making sure all payments are accounted for and the donations are acknowledged. "I typically log on once a week and track everything on a spreadsheet before emailing the report to various members directly involved," she explains. "Then I make sure the donator's name and address are sent to the Thank You team."

In addition to PayPal, Julie has also helped with updating SalesForce and Constant Contact.

Julie's involvement with GRRA was inspired by her dog, Brady. "Trey and I bought Brady from a breeder over six years ago," she says, adding that they did little research before choosing to buy a dog. Brady had them at 'hello,' his expressive personality opening their eyes to the emotional range of animals. "We started looking for volunteer opportunities when we learned how many dogs and cats are needlessly killed each year in metro Atlanta area shelters," she says. They have since become passionate about the plight of animals and what they can do to help, spurring them to even become vegans. "And all of this was triggered by our four-legged golden friend," Julie says with a laugh.

Julie also enjoys working with and meeting other GRRA volunteers and regularly participates in the group hikes, but her favorite aspect of GRRA has been fostering. "Fostering is such a rewarding feeling because you're directly involved with saving an animal's life," she says. And what a difference Julie has made in the lives of both the animals and the humans involved with GRRA. Thanks, Julie, for all you do!

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.