2010 End-of-Year RMRP Volunteer Awards

The staff and volunteers of RMRP are a big family of people passionate about rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing raptors back into the wild and to provide environmental conservation education to the public. Anyone (minimum age of 16 with adult partner or 18 as an individual volunteer) who is willing to make the commitment to the program is welcomed, and in fact, needed as the 6.5 staff members and 150 volunteers are stretched to cover the hours and duties required for our programs. The family has to be close knit, as it “cleans poop” and “cuts up rats, mice, and other whole food sources” for the raptors. As a father of a teen-parent partnership recently said, “It is a bonding experience, and it gives you something to talk about other than ‘how’s school?’ as the two of you are experiencing the same learning opportunities and doing the same work in caring for the birds.” New volunteers to senior staff do whatever is necessary for the program—from cleaning cages to answering phones to doing housekeeping. We are a family and as such, we work for the good of the birds in our care and the community.

Our volunteers give their time to RMRP, and for this gift, we are forever grateful. In the past year, volunteers gave over 38,000 hours! In recognition of those volunteers who go above and beyond, RMRP has given the following 2010 End-of-Year Awards: