Why HPHH is Jenny’s ‘perfect recipe for happiness’
Jenny is ‘obsessed’ with animals. She has two cats at home – Tapioca and Artemis – which she adopted from the RSPCA Wacol. Jenny is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and a mental health advocate. She is also a talented and passionate artist. Her two worlds collide in her Red Bubble store - Jenny Jump - where she makes art of animals.
Jenny joined Happy Paws Happy Hearts (HPHH) nearly 2 years ago. She started in our Handle Program, having had previous experience volunteering with the RSPCA and as a foster carer for animals.
“I found that being a participant at Happy Paws Happy Hearts increased my confidence, helped me with my social interaction; I made new friends, and it helped me identify that my passion is really working with animals,” Jenny says.
Before she discovered HPHH, Jenny said her life was ‘quite limited’.
“I didn’t go out very much. I had very low self-esteem and self-worth. I didn’t have much confidence in my abilities and not much of an idea in what I wanted in life,” Jenny says.
“Now, I have a lot of goals, and one of my goals is to become an HPHH volunteer.”
Jenny smashed this goal and has been doing an outstanding job as a volunteer with us for the past few months – she is ‘loving it’.
Program Trainer, Sarah Chlonta says that Jenny’s strength is how she supports other participants and her animal handling skills.
“Jen is an amazing volunteer. We all love you very much. All the Program Trainers are smitten with Jen because she's just so awesome,” Sarah says.
“From a Program Trainer perspective, I’ve seen Jen continue to grow her confidence and bring her caring heart to the classes.
“Even before she was a volunteer, she would support other participants and make sure they were having the best time, always providing the best care for the animals, and even bringing in little ping pong balls that she decorated."
Jenny walking Mia the Staffy
Jenny’s favourite thing about volunteering HPHH is working with the animals and the participants who ‘always fill her up with joy’.
“They’re all so kind and caring. They have amazing abilities that inspire me,” Jenny says.
Jenny says volunteering with HPHH is the ‘perfect recipe for happiness’.
Utilising her passion for art and volunteering, Jenny has graciously created colouring-in stencils for our participants to complete in sessions. This includes our resident three-legged dog Dennis, also known as ‘The Dentist’.
If you’d like to purchase a shirt with one of Jenny’s original designs, please check out her Red Bubble store here. You can also find her on Instagram at @jumplings_artworks
To become a volunteer with us, please check out our ‘Volunteer With Us’ page and register your interest! We would love to have you.