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A Day in the Life of a ....
Rescue Relationship Advisor Rescue Relationship Advisor, Lynn Stoddard, is responsible for the brand-new Charity of the Year initiative, run by Support Adoption For Pets, which is the number one financial supporter of pet rescue centres in the UK. Every year, thousands of pets in the UK end up in adoption centres. Some have been neglected and some are abandoned through no fault of their own. The team at Support Adoption for Pets work to support hundreds of pet rehoming centres in the UK, and the charity has been transforming the lives of pets in need through its charity and store relationships as well as through its grant programme.
Lynn helps rescues and Pets at Home
stores to work together collaboratively, ensuring the relationship runs smoothly at all times, whilst supporting other areas of the charity. Here, Lynn talks us through her day…
Morning My day begins by checking through emails, my job is to respond to any enquiries that we receive or pass them on to the relevant person within the team. Rescues often contact us if they’ve heard of our services or are looking for more information about how we can support them, such as the grant programme, in which case I will work closely with Laura, the Grant Funding Coordinator to support the rescue through the application process. Another way in which we support rescues is through our Charity of the Year initiative, which is an opportunity for every Pets at Home store to support a rescue in their local community, giving the rescues the unique opportunity to raise funds and promote the work they do to Pets at Home customers. Next, I’ll work on the ad-hoc fundraising returns that our rescues have submitted, these are completed when the rescue have attended their store as part of Charity of the Year. It is really rewarding to see that rescues are raising significant funds whilst holding engaging events within the store.
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Mid-morning
Afternoon
I attend our weekly team meeting which is a great opportunity for the team to share updates on their dedicated area within the charity. As we are a team of five a lot of our time is spent visiting rescues and Pets at Home stores; these meetings are really beneficial to find out how we can help and support each other in the week ahead.
This afternoon I’m spending time communicating to our Charity of the Year rescues. I saw a fantastic example yesterday of how to hold an engaging event effectively in store, and I really want to showcase this to other rescues, in order to support them more effectively. As the day comes to a close, I check in with colleagues in Pets at Home distribution centres on our donated stock scheme; this is where pallets of damaged and short life dated stock are donated to the chosen Charity of the Year rescues. It’s wonderful to hear and celebrate that so many rescues have benefited over the last few months from this scheme. Before my day comes to a close I ensure all emails are answered for the day. Finally, I collate some information for Laura, who is doing a grant visit tomorrow. The rescue are also involved in the Charity of the Year, so it’s my job to ensure Laura has all the information she needs, so she can do a thorough visit.
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No two days are ever the same, one day I can be out in rescues, the next day I can be in the office working through enquiries and communicating to our rescues.
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Today, I update the team on my rescue visit from the previous day. This particular rescue is involved in our Charity of the Year initiative and has a great working relationship with their local store; they’ve also expressed an interest in our grant programme. I give an update in the meeting from the visit, asking Laura to contact them to talk them through the grant programme and also update the team on the success of the rescues and stores working collaboratively together.
I love my job, we make a difference each and every day, whilst having fun along the way.
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Lynn with the team