Comm 2320
Basic Reporting for the School of Communication at ECU

Katie Benson is Assistant Facility Manager and Volunteer Coordinator/Fundraising for the Humane Society of Eastern Carolina. Her start in the Humane Society was a bit unconventional. She started volunteering and it than led to a full time position. “A friend of mine is on the Humane Society board and asked me to volunteer for a fundraiser. I did and really enjoyed it. A few days later, I was checking the website to see how much the event raised and saw there was an opening for the assistant facility manager. At the time, I was working in the mental health field, but had been laid off to part-time hours. I applied for the position and got it. I used to work for another nonprofit and have a lot of experience with volunteer management and fundraising, which is why I got the job. I had no prior experience working with animals. They actually did a second, working interview to evaluate my skills with animals. I had to interact with the animals and administer medication and vaccines.”

The Humane Society of Eastern Carolina (HSEC) is fighting for animal rights. HSEC believes that every animal has the right to be cared for, wanted, loved and to have its basic needs of food, water and shelter taken care of.

Benson’s responsibilities vary depending on the administrative cap she is wearing. “For my position it is important that I be personable and approachable to the community, as I am the volunteer coordinator. I am expected to do TV spots promoting HSEC, so I have to be comfortable with the media. I have to be organized, which is struggle. I am responsible for increasing the volunteer support thereby reducing the need for paid staff and in turn freeing up more money to go towards the animals instead of pay roll. I am responsible for caring for the animals in the facility manager’s absence. Taking care of 50 dogs and 30 cats is a huge responsibility. Not only meeting their basic needs of food, water, medication, but also making sure there is no spread of disease, everyone is vaccinated and scheduling spay and neuter appointments. I am also responsible for maintaining a database of volunteers, donors and members, as well as sending donor acknowledgements.”

As a woman the original civil rights movement of the mid 50’s-late 60’s did not directly affect Benson and its aftermath. The movement did set the groundwork for many of the current movements it also provided more opportunities for woman. “Offhand I can’t think of how the original civil rights movement has affected me, but the women’s movement certainly has. I worked and put my husband through college. For several years, I was either the primary or the only breadwinner in our family. When I worked for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern Carolina, I am proud to say that I was the first licensed female fork lift driver for the organization. I have asked for and earned raises. When I think of civil rights and social justice, I think of the struggle for equality. Equality for people of different races, sexes, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and age.”

The transition from federally funded to non-profit was not difficult for Benson because she needed a job and had prior experience. “As unglamorous as it sounds, I work for this particular nonprofit because I was laid off and needed a job, but I love it. It has been an odd transition to working with cats and dogs instead of people. I moved to Pitt County because my husband wanted to go to ECU. The job I had before coming to HSEC was a state funded program. It was my experience that it was about how much the company could bill the state and not about helping people, and I was desperate to get back in the nonprofit sector.” The transition from people to animals has proven beneficial. “On the other hand, cats and dogs don’t disappoint you; they don’t try to scam the organization. It’s easier to believe in what I’m doing and feel like I’m making a difference.”

The Humane Society has a number of obstacles. Working with there has provided Benson the opportunity to overcome one of her personal obstacles. There are a lot of obstacles in working with the Humane Society! The most personal is that I am afraid of dogs. Ironically, three times a week I take care of the “behavior dogs” – the dogs who are in quarantine either for aggressively attacking a person or another dog. I’ve come a long way in my fear of dogs, but I still get nervous around unfamiliar dogs. The other obstacles are ones common to nonprofits. “We don’t have enough funding to meet our needs. Working on a shoestring budget. Working way too many hours for very little pay.”

The Humane Society has emotional side effects for the workers but instant gratification is the biggest reward and motivation. Benson says, “The rewards are pretty immediate, so it’s easy to stay motivated. It is wonderful to see an animal be adopted and go to its forever home. It is also wonderful to bring an animal to the facility and know that you saved it from neglect or euthanasia.”

One of the most difficult things working with animals is that they cannot all be saved. Benson says that this is one of the most difficulty aspects of the job. “HSEC is almost always full and works off of a waiting list. It’s hard telling someone that you can’t take in their animal right away. It’s especially hard to tell them that when you know they’re going to turn around and go straight to the animal shelter with that animal. It’s been hard for me to learn that you can’t save every animal.”

The most effective ways the HSEC brings attention or promote action to its non-profit initiatives is by having adoption stands or fundraisers in the community highlights the need to adopt, not buy from breeders. On two different TV stations, we have a weekly pet of the week spot to promote our animals. We also have a weekly pet of the week spot in the local newspaper.

There are parts of this job that make you really believe in the decency of people. We have volunteers who will gladly open up their homes to foster animals. We have volunteers who come faithfully no matter the weather. We have volunteers who come in on holidays to walk dogs.

Animals are often times the forgotten population. Owners forget that pets should be treated as part of the family not as a toy. Benson explains some extreme cases of owner neglect. There are owners that take care of their animals and than there are people who abuse and neglect their animals. [There are] people who throw cats over the fence onto our property. One tied a dog to the lamp post. Another owner threw a dog from their moving vehicle onto our property. She survived a few days until we decided she was too sick and too injured and humanely euthanized her. There are owner who leave puppies in a bucket in the rain, who put a cat in box, punch holes in it, and leave the cat by our door when it’s below freezing, etc. For this reason, the Humane Society has an intense adoption process but some slip through the cracks.

Volunteers are an invaluable factor in no-profits. They too have to be treated well and feel as if they belong. Benson is responsible for the volunteers and hopes that they stay committed even after she is no longer working at the Humane Society. “The volunteer program was basically nonexistent when I started, so I hope to have a large, sustainable volunteer program. I hope to increase the number of volunteers such that there is less of a need for paid staff, so more money can go directly towards the care of the animals and the facility instead of towards pay roll. I hope to increase the foster program so we are able to get animals out of bad situations faster and into our program. I hope to start a kids program that pairs kids with puppies and dog training. I hope to have an impact on our fundraising so that HSEC has more money coming in.”

I absolutely love my job. I can’t wait to get to work everyday and I have trouble tearing myself away. At this time, I can’t say that I’ll always remain in the animal care field. I make my career choices more on how I can use my skills to make an impact on my community. I like working with the community and working in the nonprofit sector.

Benson advises others who wish to work in a non-profit organization to understand that money isn’t everything. It is the love of the job and the willingness to serve those in need. “Working for a nonprofit means that you will be a nonprofit! But nonprofits generally have better hours, better benefits and much better job satisfaction. Nonprofits like to hire from within, so I would recommend someone volunteer for an organization for which they would like to work.”