Who Are We?
The volunteers at Anne Arundel County Animal Care & Control (AACACC) created Friends of AACACC in 2014 because the animals need our help – and yours! In addition to the hundreds of hours of time our small cadre of volunteers donates each month, most of us have dug repeatedly into our own pockets to provide items that aren’t in the shelter’s county budget but that help make shelter life better for the animals and/or encourage adoptions. But because there is so much more to be done than our little group of volunteers can finance, we created Friends of AACACC, an IRS-registered 501(c)(3) charity that solicits donations that we use to improve and to SAVE the lives of the homeless animals at the shelter.
FEIN: 47-1552999
Maryland Sales & Use Tax Registration Number: 15692067
Board of Directors
Lisa became an Anne Arundel County Animal Care & Control (AACACC) volunteer in October, 2011 because “I wanted to help the homeless animals in this county and reduce their euthanasia.” Lisa created Friends of AACACC, a tax-deductible nonprofit, after the County Council refused to allow the shelter to keep monetary donations. She owns her own CPA firm, which she says “feeds my bank account. Helping the homeless animals feeds my soul.” Lisa, the shelter’s cat volunteer coordinator, has a dog, Dudley, and four cats – Ashley, Gracie, Haley (pictured), and Brenda.
Linda began volunteering at AACACC in January 2018, shortly after relocating from North Carolina, where she had many years of shelter-related volunteer experience. “My heart is in helping open-admission shelters that must take in every animal that is presented to them,” Linda says. “This is often fast-paced work that requires dedicated staff and volunteers working together, whether it is to rehome an animal or get one the medical care it needs. The added benefit is all the wonderful humans I get to interact with while helping the animals!” Linda has two dogs, Layla, 15, a rescue beagle/husky mix, and Rejjie, 5, a beagle adopted from AACACC.
In addition to her busy work and school schedule, Jennifer began volunteering in 2017, shortly after adopting a senior cat now named Missey (pictured). Jennifer is primarily a cat room volunteer, but also helps with the shelter’s events. “I feel like I really contribute to the mission, which is very rewarding,” she says. Jennifer has five cats, three of which are from AACACC, and numerous fish.
“I like being a volunteer because I truly love dogs,” says Donna, the dog volunteer coordinator, who started at AACACC in September 2012 after seeing how short-handed the shelter was when she adopted Dudley (pictured). Donna primarily works with dogs including coordinating adoptions for pit bulls that must be adopted through rescue, but she also fosters underaged kittens. She currently has two dogs and two cats that were adopted from the shelter, 4 pygmy goats and seven chickens.
When she began volunteering at AACACC in January 2014, Chris thought she’d spend a handful of hours each month walking dogs, but she quickly was immersed in several shelter activities, including working with its rescue coordinator to find homes for animals that otherwise might not be adopted. Chris is a retired newspaper reporter/editor who writes the Friends’ Facebook posts. She has a pit bull, Lacey, and three cats, J.J., Midget and Pershing; all were adopted from the shelter.
Joanna became a volunteer at AACACC in 2015 after first finding a stray dog on the way home from work, then checking out the AACACC webpage to follow his status and discovering the volunteer program. She spends her Saturdays walking the county’s homeless dogs and introducing them to potential adopters, and wishes more county residents would spay/neuter their pets to help lower the number of dogs and cats waiting in the shelter for a new home.
A lifelong love of animals and, in July 2015, a chance meeting with a member of Friends of Anne Arundel County Animal Care & Control (AACACC) led Jaci into the volunteer program at AACACC. “I was looking for a volunteer opportunity and the shelter is a perfect fit. There is no better feeling than placing a shelter animal with its furever family.” The majority of her time is spent working in the “Cat Room,” assisting with adoptions and taking photographs for the AACACC web site. Jaci also enjoys walking the dogs as well. Jaci has three house cats, Fuzz (a.k.a. Gump, a former feral); Misha (a.k.a. Momma Misha) adopted from AACACC and Luna (a.k.a. Lunatic) a “foster fail” from AACACC. In addition, she manages a feral colony and assists others with their feral colonies.