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Meet Cathy Frumento
My name is Catherine Frumento and I live in Westville NJ (Gloucester county) with my 4 kids, ages 3 to 15, my husband and, of course a household of animals. This is my second marriage, my first husband died at age 39 of a brain tumor. I am a nurse and have been actively working since 1985. I do homecare visits as needed and private duty for a client I have had for about 10 years. I am in a fortunate position of being able to work part time so I can be with the kids. When my first husband was alive I had to work full time and take care of him so needless to say it was not easy and I am grateful now for the time I do get to spend with all my kids. This situation also affords me the time to devote to Wings of Hope.
I have been with Wings Of Hope for about one and a half years and I enjoy it thoroughly. I have done apps for Wings of Hope and fostered birds. Both of these tasks require asking a lot of questions, listening to your gut and "reading" the bird. I treat every potential adopter as if they were adopting one of my birds. My husband said I was too “picky” with the way I did my applicants but I considered that a "compliment". I would love to do more with the Petco days, fundraisers, etc. but the distance and my family responsibilities makes it unrealistic for me at this time. So, whenever a need comes along that I know I can help with, I take it.
Of course, like everyone else, I have a flock of birds myself that are much like my kids... SPOILED!! I particularly like the “special needs” birds (like my little adopted dove ABRA) and I am thankful that I got the opportunity to care for her. I became a Certified Avian Specialist thru PIJAC which I find very helpful in day to day care of the birds. I would like to eventually work somewhere that I could utilize this information more. My flock includes an African Grey named "Tootsy", a Sun Conure named "Gerty", a Parrotlet named "Nila", a tiel named "Sam" who is 22 years old, and an Indian Ringneck (WOH adoptee) named "Rudy".
My nature itself is a caretaker (probably why I have so may kids and so many birds) and I enjoy being part of an organization that is helping out those that can’t speak for themselves. I have heard about other rescues and met individual people that call themselves a “rescue” and I have to say that it is quite scary that they can use the word “rescue”. It's not just about adopting out birds. Wings of Hope has a firm foundation with an emphasis on education and teaching proper care of birds.
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Member/Volunteer Coordinator
Many times the reason we end up with these birds in rescue is a lack of education on the bird owners part. I feel that education has to start from the moment the person is thinking about buying or adopting a bird. Many times people are not given this information and they, in turn,
get a bird that they know little about. Frequently, while I am interviewing a potential applicant for adoption, I do more education than interviewing because that person really does not have a very good base knowledge. It seems that the long term goal of education and teaching can possibly prevent some of these birds from entering the rescue in the first place. When adoption must occur, Wings of Hope has one goal in mind... to find the best home for each and every bird that comes into rescue and is adoptable. Follow up is just as important which is a big part of the adoption process.
I feel that I can be a positive addition because my values are very similar to what Wings of Hope stands for. I am not the type to react, but instead I sit back and think about the situation then make a decision. I am the type that tries to find a positive solution in a negative situation. I know my limits and do not volunteer to do something unless I can follow through with it.
I would love to be given the opportunity to assist with the decision making process and see the other side of an organization that, in my opinion, is the best bird “rescue” out there. Travel to Jackson and surrounding area on a regular basis is not always a possibility for me but I am very capable and willing to do whatever is needed via internet, phone, mail etc. or to travel to closer locations for Wings of Hope functions.
I cannot say that making many “changes” to Wings of Hope comes to my mind because I feel that they have a very organized and thorough rescue but the one thing I would like to see is the spread of Petco days down to the southern counties, like Burlington, Camden & Gloucester. I could personally assist with these Petco days since travel to these counties would not be a problem. Taking this education to the local elementary schools is also another suggestion as has been mentioned before by another volunteer. I actually have started this with my kids school by taking in some of my animals to my sons kindergarten class and educating about that animal.
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