Foster Animals- Community Service?

[TechToDoc]

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I foster kittens through my local cat rescue and have for a few years. Does this count as community service? I filled it in on my AACOMAS application and it looked so cliche "fostered homeless kittens." Thought?

If it looks like I'm grasping at straws, it's because I am. The only volunteer/ community service I have is preparation of bird specimens for the university museum when I was an undergrad (I graduated in 2008) and in 2011 I volunteered my time with a local group which trains military veterans to train their own service dogs, totaling about 40 hours. I am starting to feel like I should even bother applying with so little service.

 

[trs88]

Those do sound okay, but have you been able to volunteer in a medical related area? A clinic, hospital, ER - or shadowing a physician?

 

[TechToDoc]

I have shadowed a physician (15 hours and ongoing) and am enrolled in a medical lab technology program which has provided a lot of clinical experience and patient contact through phlebotomy training.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Maybe you could formalize the language a little. This is a program, right? Not just grabbing cats off the street. So drum up a title and a formal list of responsibilities. I think it is a fine EC.

 

[ThisisReality]

I foster kittens through my local cat rescue and have for a few years. Does this count as community service? I filled it in on my AACOMAS application and it looked so cliche "fostered homeless kittens." Thought?

If it looks like I'm grasping at straws, it's because I am. The only volunteer/ community service I have is preparation of bird specimens for the university museum when I was an undergrad (I graduated in 2008) and in 2011 I volunteered my time with a local group which trains military veterans to train their own service dogs, totaling about 40 hours. I am starting to feel like I should even bother applying with so little service.

Hello,

I know this is an old thread, but was wondering how you went about calculating the volunteer hours when you fostered cats. I spent some time fostering cats for a local organization and just stopped recently. In total, I fostered for 163 days or 3,912 hours... Is that obnoxious to include that many hours or should I count each day as 8 or 12 hours?

 

[LizzyM]

Hello,

I know this is an old thread, but was wondering how you went about calculating the volunteer hours when you fostered cats. I spent some time fostering cats for a local organization and just stopped recently. In total, I fostered for 163 days or 3,912 hours... Is that obnoxious to include that many hours or should I count each day as 8 or 12 hours?

How many hours per day are you actually engaged in caring for the kitties? Feeding and taking care of the litter box can't require more than 20 minutes per day. Is there more to it than that?

I'd list it as a hobby rather than volunteer service. Some adcoms will relate to someone who has a hobby related to kitties.

 

[Catalystik]

Some adcoms will relate to someone who has a hobby related to kitties.

And some relate more to turtles?

 

[Doctor-S]

How many hours per day are you actually engaged in caring for the kitties? Feeding and taking care of the litter box can't require more than 20 minutes per day. Is there more to it than that?

I'd list it as a hobby rather than volunteer service. Some adcoms will relate to someone who has a hobby related to kitties.

I'm fine with 163 days.

In my humble opinion, fostering cats and kittens is a substantial commitment of your attention, time and personal labor - especially if any of your fosters were newborn kittens, or ailing, or challenging in some other way (e.g, older, blind, tripods, abused).

Young kittens often require round-the-clock care and attention (e.g., bottle-feeding a motherless kitten every 2-3 hours; brushing a kitten's back with a toothbrush to simulate a mother cat's rough tongue; rubbing their little bums to stimulate elimination, keeping them not-too-hot, and not-too-cold, etc.). The commitments associated with fostering cats can be demanding. As far as I am concerned, it "feels" as if the foster kitten or cat might as well be analogous to a helpless pediatric patient or a vulnerable geriatric patient that is wholly dependent on you for care, comfort, shelter, food, etc. I understand ... no worries.

 

[LizzyM]

Thanks for the info on fostering newborn cats. @ThisisReality was not specific about the age or condition of the cats being fostered.
That said, I would be very careful with counting anything as requiring 24 hours per day for consecutive days. It does not ring true to the actual time commitment to the activity. I have seen adcoms scoff at anything listed as 168 hr/wk. Count the hours actively engaged in the activity but don't count the hours you are asleep.