When I moved to Perth and reduced my working hours I was determined to make good use of the extra time I’d been gifted each week and not fall into the often very tempting trap of binge watching Netflix on my days off.

So I became an RSPCA Community Outreach volunteer! This means I go and present to school kids, from the littlies all the way to the teens, on the role of RSPCA Inspectors and the responsibilities we all have as animal owners and as decent humans, to protect our furry friends from cruelty.

It’s strange, through work standing in front of government delegates talking about higher education regulation in a convincing way that suggests I know what I’m on about, has almost become second nature. However, talking about puppies with a classroom full of 5 year olds without getting too far off topic is a completely different story!

I thought that was hard. This week I had to face 120 semi-bored looking teenagers and try to engage them enough that no-one fell asleep on me or started heckling!

I have to say though, both experiences have been fantastic! It’s actually really satisfying when the kids engage in the conversation and ask questions, even when I don’t have all the answers! It’s nice to see how caring and compassionate most of them are about animals, which is something we certainly have in common. I mean who would’ve thought Princess Olive was not only a rescue kitten who was given a second chance home with us, but she was also the runt of her litter! Look at her now!

Being here in a new city, a new state, its so great for me personally to have this opportunity to engage with a completely new group of people. The Community Outreach program is a really fantastic part of the RSPCA that I am so pleased to be involved with!

I know work, study and life in general often get in the way of us doing much else, but if you do have spare time I really encourage you to seek out some opportunities to get involved in something that you are really passionate about. At the very least, it gives you a nice fuzzy feeling. Like this one…