A few weeks ago World Vets received a most welcomed surprise. We learned that World Vets volunteer Courtney Vaudreuil participated in the Travelocity “Travel for Good” twitter contest. We were even more shocked when she won the grand prize! What did she win? An opportunity for her and friend Carole Angelo to travel and volunteer with World Vets. What’s more, Travelocity also made a significant monetary contribution to World Vets in support of our international efforts to help animals!
Courtney claimed her prize earlier this month by joining us in Nicaragua for a veterinary field service project. This project had our team provide free spay/neuter services for companion animals in undeserrved communities and to benefit those who are unable to afford this service. In a four day period, over 200 free sterilizations were provided!
But, it doesn’t just stop there. Prior to Courtney’s trip, she was trying to collect donations of dog collars and leashes to give out during the project. While she succeeded in getting some, Travelocity surprised her with a large donation of collars and leashes during the project, which she then distributed to animal patients at the clinic site.
A common thing we often hear from our volunteers is how amazing it is that individuals from all different backgrounds and geographical locations can come together and accomplish so much good in just a short amount of time. We believe this wouldn’t be possible if our volunteers didn’t share a common goal and passion. World Vets has been very lucky in this sense in attracting outstanding volunteers that want to dedicate their time, energy and skills as part of our projects that help animals.
We depend heavily on our volunteers to achieve our mission and in turn bring much needed veterinary care to animals all over the world. We not only have a need for veterinarians, but anyone who is an animal lover! In other words, in order to volunteer it is not necessary that you have previous veterinary or animal related experience. Courtney and Carole did not come from a veterinary background yet they still filled a very important role as “assistant” in tending to animals recovering after surgery. Read more about volunteer descriptions here
We are extremely grateful for this opportunity and thank Travelocity for choosing Courtney and supporting World Vets!
Travelocity believes that voluntourism makes us and our world better. They want to support people who have the desire to travel for good, which is why they re-launched the Travel For Good program this past fall. Travel For Good aims to support individuals who have causes they’re passionate about, and through this program, Travelocity strives to help to make a difference all over the world.
