My name is Dawn Dancing Otter. I live in Penticton BC.

In the past seven years, I have been a volunteer at the South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls, a Raptor Rescue and Rehab centre. SORCO is the only Raptor Rehab facility south of Kamloops, west of Alberta up to Delta BC, and the only Interior BC rehab centre with a courier service to transport birds. Last year alone, SORCO took in 150 injured and orphaned birds of prey. The organization has provided a vital service to the communities of the Okanagan, and wildlife.

My function as a volunteer has spanned from the general support of the birds - cleaning cages, mopping floors, feeding, providing optimal environment for injured birds to heal, administering prescribed medicines, bandaging broken wings - to sitting on the Board of Directors as Educational Director, going to schools, events, and scout camp on educational visits with our Great Horned Owl ambassador, Houdini. I have been involved with the rescue and receiving of injured and orphaned birds, rehab and eventual release of many birds. I have been a loyal, determined, and passionate unpaid support to SORCO, and my sons and husband have participated alongside me, cleaning rat cages, sweeping floors, and working hard. I have donated my time, my vehicle, gas expenses, and my public support over these years. I endeavour to raise my sons to know that volunteering time builds a strong community. I want them to learn to include volunteer time throughout their lives.

I have had great friendships and close connections within SORCO until a recent change of management. Our Executive Manager stepped down and was replaced. Our current manager immediately began to cut my shifts, from weekly to once in two months. When I complained and asked for an explanation, she fired me by email. I still do not know why I have been removed, and I have done nothing wrong to my knowledge. 

 I was not given warning, and I have no chance for an appeal to the Board. The Chair of the Board, the Manager's partner, denied me any recourse, and would not explain why I was being let go.  I am still completely confused by this, why we cannot discuss this together and resolve any differences, and why the board is complicit in this decision. 

My sons and I are heartbroken. I was not planning to tell my story publicly because I didn't want SORCO to have any negative attention. My friends, however, made me aware that if this could happen to me, being dismissed for no cause and no recourse after seven years of good work with the organization, it could happen to any volunteer at SORCO. And that is really unconscionable. I decided for this reason, even though it is most likely that I will never be welcomed back to SORCO as a volunteer in any capacity, I am speaking out. Not for myself, but for the betterment of a system that can only result in declining quality for the organization, and more importantly, for the vulnerable animals in SORCOs care.

Why I am encouraging you to sign and support this petition is that currently, there are no policies at SORCO to prevent this situation from recurring. As it is a non-profit, charitable organization, and save for two paid staff, it is entirely run by volunteers. Having no policies around the support of volunteers, including a structured process for conflict resolution means that volunteers are subject to removal without cause, notice, or appeal. To be a volunteer working at SORCO with birds of prey, experience, training, and skill development is essential. To replace experienced volunteers with less experienced ones can only result in reduced quality of care for these wild and injured or orphaned birds. If such skills are required in development in our volunteer pool, it is even more imperative to have written policies to manage volunteers and to protect them (and therefore the care of the birds) from such arbitrary actions. 

Please sign this petition to send a message to SORCO to change its policies on Volunteer Management, to include compassionate treatment, support and encouragement for a job well done, training required for people in contact with raptors, and for conflict resolution. No one should ever be dismissed this way. The development of new policies won't result in my reinstatement, but they will protect present and future volunteers. 

SORCO has been an amazing institution these past seven years I have served. I hope it improves, and I sincerely hope that future volunteers will receive better support than I have recently, and this story becomes one of positive change.

In Gratitude,
Dawn Dancing Otter