Young Professionals Volunteer At The Zoo

The Santa Barbara Association of REALTORS® Young Professional Network (YPN) Committee volunteered at the Santa Barbara Zoo on Monday April 25, helping to clean up the railroad.

The YPN committee consists of a group of young real estate professionals with the common goal to become exceptional members of the community. The committee meets monthly and volunteers for local causes that they feel passionate about.

Committee member Alyssa Ann Jones explains, “This month it was our honor to volunteer at the Santa Barbara Zoo. We already knew the Zoo would be a fun and beautiful place to volunteer, but what we didn’t know is how heavily the Santa Barbara Zoo depends on the support of our community for its operations and improvements.”

“We got together a group of five committee members: I was joined by Marisa Holly, Katelyn Guinn, Stephen MacFarlane, and Jorden Angel.. We met at the Zoo gates on a beautiful Monday afternoon. Upon arrival, we were warmly and graciously greeted by the Zoo staff. Bob and Dee, Zoo Engineer Extraordinaires, informed us we would be helping them clean up the railroad! An inspection of the tracks is done on a yearly basis, and it was our duty to ensure they looked as pretty as possible for when the inspector arrives next month. We put on our gloves, picked up our rakes, and went to work! Perks of the job were being near the Anteater and Capybara exhibits, as well as getting a private tour of the train’s tunnel. Anora the Anteater was very intrigued by our work and made for an excellent chaperone!”

By volunteering, YPN allows the staff and other volunteers to devote their time to the animals and guests. Other committee members who were not able to join this day are Amanda Barba, Pranav Shastri, David Magid, Holly Onak, Mia Wamsley, Lyndsey Jones, Cheylin MacKahan, and SBAOR staff liaison Jeff Chavolla. Alyssa added, “We had a wonderful experience and will absolutely be back to volunteer again soon. We encourage you to do the same!”

REALTORS®: Share your industry info in “REAL ESTATE SCOOP.” Email sarah@independent.com for details.