Making a difference

For Julie Gallant-Cumber, giving back comes with many rewards.

As a long-time volunteer, she says it not only helps build the community but gives a sense of meaning as well.

“Volunteering is one of the most rewarding things one can do in their life,” she says. “Everything we do connects us to different people and circumstances and keeps spreading out. So much opens up when you get involved in the community.”

Julie has been involved in a myriad of organisations and events, from fundraisers to fostering, since moving to the Cayman Islands from Canada in 1994.

The Cayman Islands Humane Society is particularly close to her heart. She began by fostering three puppies when she first moved here, later becoming more involved in fostering, dog walking and assisting with fundraising efforts. Most recently, she became a board member with the Humane Society.

“I’ve always had a great love of animals,” she says. “With animals, the reward is seeing them in a loving home and thriving, knowing what their outcome could have been.” It’s that sense of making a difference – large or small – that keeps her going.

“Volunteering, on any level, is very rewarding,” she says. “You feel a sense of doing something that makes a difference in a life, lives or the community. There is a sense of meaning in volunteering, no matter what the work is.”

When it comes to helping with fundraising events, one of the rewards is knowing people are enjoying the occasion.

“I had organised many fundraising movie nights for the humane society, and watching the children come in with their classmates or friends and enjoy a great movie for a good cause is a nice feeling,” she says. “It’s a win-win.”

She helped stage the Cayman Charity Auto Show, an official Queen’s Platinum Celebratory event, putting on the free community event with a team of six. It raised funds for several local charities, and to great success.

“There is a huge amount of work involved in a big fundraising event, but the end result is well worth it,” she says. Julie is the operations manager at the Auto Spa Car Wash on Godfrey Nixon Way. Much like her volunteer experience, she has worked in a variety of fields – from the restaurant industry to fund management.

She says volunteering gives her an opportunity to gain hands-on experience, learn new skills and make connections.

“For women, it’s a chance to make a difference, show their value, their strong qualities – like organisation – and make bonds with other women who share the same values,” she says.

Volunteering has also given her a new perspective. “You look at things differently. You learn to be very grateful for the small things in life,” she says. “I look at the life my rescue dogs now have and think about how their life could have been, and that there are so many out there who are not so lucky.

“It drives you to keep going and want to do more and more. It is the ‘making a difference’ in a life, no matter whether it’s a person or an animal, that gives that great feeling. There is a contentment to it.