Cindy and her brother Keith have been volunteering at CRC since 2000. They come in every other Sunday evening to feed the nocturnals (owls). In the past 8 years it was rare to get a call from them saying they couldn’t come in. I sat down with Cindy to discuss her experience at CRC as a volunteer.

“Well I love the outdoors and love to hike. Whenever I would climb up to the top of a cliff or mountain I would watch the hawks and vultures soaring. I thought how wonderful that would be. I started reading up on raptors and in turn ended up gaining so much respect for them. They are so regal, big and majestic. One day I was driving down I-77 and saw a sign for Carolina Raptor Center that was a light bulb moment. I knew it was meant to be, that I was supposed to volunteer there. I called CRC for information and started volunteering.”

“Oh everything is exciting. I do remember feeding the display Barn Owls when they had babies and the noise those babies make. The hissing, and then when I would get near they would just stop, just like that. It was so strange. I also will never forget the first time I released a bird; it was a Barred Owl that I had picked up and then was able to release it after it was healed. I also was able to release a Red Shouldered Hawk right on my property; I watched it for a really long time with my binoculars…”

“Oh I couldn’t imagine not coming; it’s a way of life. I have my family, grandchildren, church and then Carolina Raptor Center. This is where I get my “aha ha” moments. Walking through the woods during the fall especially, hearing the leaves crunch under my feet and seeing the deer. It’s amazing. ”

“The one thing that you can just highlight-it’s like stepping into the heart of god, its godlike, at least for me it is. For me it’s very spiritual. The birds are so regal and they are loners. They are entirely different from your little yard birds. They are survivors it seems. I just really respect them. I can always bring CRC into a story I am telling, a lesson I am teaching, it just has so many connections. ”

“I volunteer at my church, I do children sermons. I fence competitively, I model, I am a professional make up artist, I also am a NC certified beekeeper, along with my brother Keith. I do all the Gaston county gardening, nature and beekeeping programs for students. I am also secretary of the Gaston County beekeepers association; I’ve been doing that for five years. I also ride motorcycles with my husband; I guess you can say I am a biker chick. ”

“It is a very rewarding experience, mentally, spiritually and physically. It gives you an appreciation for our earth that god put us on. Anyone that wants to be in tune with nature and or God there is not a better place to be. Anyone can do it but it takes a special person to feed, you can’t be squeamish. I grew up with lots of brothers, I couldn’t be squeamish because they would terrorize me! So feeding wasn’t a problem for me. But there is something for everyone here!

Since we talked with Cindy, she has also started volunteering in the gift shop a few hours before she starts feeding and she has mentioned that she would like to move into the docent area as well, since she loves talking to people about Raptors.”

We spotlight a new volunteer every month, please email lbhavnani@carolinaraptorcenter.org if you would like to see a certain volunteer spotlighted.