What are you thankful for?

It is a question I ask myself every Thanksgiving. With each passing year, the question takes on new meaning.

For example, in second grade - and after persistent begging - I was thankful my parents allowed me to have a pet hamster, who I named Ruby.

In high school, I was grateful I passed my Chemistry Regents (by a few points, I might add).

In college, I felt extremely privileged to have formed an incredible group of lifelong friends.

Today, I have more to be grateful for than ever before: I have a job that allows me to interact with a community that is not only rich in history, but also chock-full of interesting, hard-working and selfless individuals.

There are so many people in our city worth being thankful for; these include the volunteers who painstakingly work long hours out of the kindness of their hearts.

I realized the true power of volunteerism just after I started working as a Patch freelancer in 2010.

My first weekly assignment was writing animal profiles for “Shelter Animal of the Week.” Every Friday, I drove to the Glen Cove Animal Shelter to gather background information on a different cat or dog.

During a shelter visit in December, 2010, volunteers asked if I could write about their newest adoptable, Noelle. To date, she is one of the most remarkable animals I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Noelle was a mere 45 lbs. when she was brought to the shelter. Her family did not feed her, provide her with shelter, or give her the medical attention she needed after being hit by a car.

In less than one month, the Animal Lovers League (ALL) nursed the stunning German Shepherd back to almost perfect health. Now, she is in a home with a loving, permanent family.

This past April, the League responded to an emergency call: A woman living on Elm Avenue had been found hoarding animals. The shelter took in nearly 100 cats, housing most in a newly-built shed, originally meant for supplies.

The cats were socialized, fed, groomed, altered, and completely taken care of. How so few people could maintain and catalogue 100 cats at a moment’s notice is, still, beyond me.

Recently, the ALL helped rescue cats from Sands Point Preserve. They are more commonly known as the ‘caged cats’ as all 67 were found living in close quarters, in complete filth.

I witnessed volunteers clean, treat and care for each cat last Sunday, after working straight through the previous night.

For all the ALL does for our furry friends, I am grateful. They continue to give second chances to the animals who have no one to love them.

I thank Joan Phillips, Mary Brown-Kumar, Diane Connolly, Cesar Villalobos, Michael Vines, Leo Penate, Joan Digby and all shelter volunteers for their dedication and labors of love.

I am thankful for all our city volunteers, including the Glen Cove Volunteer EMS and Fire Department, who saved my father’s life in 2005 after a car accident.

These are the people who are the lifeblood of the community, and it has been a privilege to have been able to know them.

Will you reach out to one ones you're most thankful for today?

Happy Thanksgiving!