Volunteer Spotlight - August

Volunteer Spotlight: Jessica Williams

Start your own foster journey with HWMR - volunteer to foster now!  

How long have you been with HWMAR and how did you get involved with the rescue?

I have been involved with the rescue for about 4 years now.  I was scrolling through Facebook one day and came across a post looking for a medical foster for a bulldog.  The dog needed someone who was at home and able to provide some simple wound care throughout the day.  It was during COVID and I was working from home, and I thought  "I can help this dog heal and find its forever home."  A few months later I was asked to become a part of the adoption team. 

What do you do for the rescue?

I am the "Adoption Coordinator" on the Dog side.   I process the applications that come into the rescue and receive all of the home photos.  Once the applications are processed, I review them with the foster families to see if the application is a good fit for their foster, and if it's a match, I prepare the adoption contracts.  I also answer email inquiries and write bios for some of our available dogs. 

What do you love about this organization?

I love the sense of community and pride. We all work together to get these animals into the right homes and with the right families. Everyone plays a part in that process, from intake, medical, fosters, event volunteers and those who work behind the scenes. It takes a village and we have a great one. 

What do you love about your job?

I love when an application ends in a match. 

it’s also very gratifying when you have a dog who has been with us for an extended period of time, whatever the reason, and you are able to finally match them with their perfect forever family. 

Is there anything else you would like people to know?

I would like people to know that fostering really does save lives!  If you can foster, even temporarily, the impact is huge. Foster dogs learn to live in homes and can be spared the stress of a shelter. It helps them adjust so they have a better chance of finding their forever families.  I urge everyone to considering fostering. An animal would much rather wait for its forever family with you, than in a shelter. 

What keeps you wanting to continue helping the rescue and all the adoptables?

Being a part of all of these wonderful animals getting to find their forever homes is what keeps me continuing the work we do. 

What is something funny or interesting about you?

I am a serial foster “failure”! I have adopted my last two HWM foster dogs, Benny and Hank both who were abandoned by their first people. They were able to live out their lives sleeping in cozy beds and living their best lives. I’m currently the mom to two Pugs (Miss Chase Elliott Williams and Slick Willie) a pit mix named Echo, and two sons, Michael and Evan.

Start your own foster journey with HWMR - volunteer to foster now!