Congratulations to Christina Doak for being selected as April’s Volunteer Spotlight!
Christina has a supposed-to-be husband, Joe. “We planned a surprise wedding in Vegas in May 2020 but COVID shut that down! We are now getting married this November during our 10-year anniversary.” Christina has an awesome 14-year-old daughter named Juliana, aka Jules and an old man chihuahua named He-Man, a pit mix named Hazel and 2 semi-feral female cats named Violet & McDreamy (they thought she was a pretty boy, oops). Christina recently had a career change. She is now a Billing Representative for St. Mary’s Healthcare. Before this she was a Certified Pharmacy Technician for over 13 years. Christina has been a volunteer with Regional for almost a year now and officially started in June 2022.
We asked Christina to tell us something most people would not know about her. She said “My favorite family vacation was when we paid to swim with SHARKS- uncaged, and in open water, in Florida. I swam with lemon and bull sharks (until the bull sharks started to bump into us – not a good sign, so we had to get on the boat – very scary!). It was the most exhilarating, heart-pumping, craziest thing I have ever done! And I cannot wait to do it again 😊”
We asked what made Christina decide to volunteer? “Stump City Secret Cider! Regional was doing an event at Stump City and I decided to go to the Volunteer booth. Best decision ever! I have always wanted to volunteer for an animal shelter but never took that final step- the booze helped with that.”
My best memory is seeing my absolute FAVORITE shelter dog, Axel, become a Certified Service Dog!
The best part about being a volunteer with Regional is that when I am volunteering, it is the best use of my time. Before Regional, when I got bored, I would binge watch Netflix, go shopping or play video games. Now, I would rather spend my free time helping the AWESOME shelter, with the AMAZING volunteers for the EXTRAORDINARY dogs waiting for the PERFECT family. Any means of volunteering for Regional is time well spent!
We asked Christina what she would tell someone who was thinking of volunteering with Regional. She said “I would tell someone who was thinking about volunteering to just try it and do what you can. I promise once you do, you will be hooked! I would also let them know that Regional offers all types/forms of volunteering. There is more to volunteering than physically taking care of the dogs (my favorite part) or heavy-duty cleaning. If you have certain limitations- maybe you can write a thank you note to our loyal supporters; help with light-duty chores such as laundry or dishes; or even just answer the phone. We appreciate all and any help!”
Thank you, Christina Doak, for your dedication and commitment to the animals at Regional!!!