Cats, Community, and the Road: A Teen’s Volunteer Journey While RVing

Vincent Snyder • May 12, 2025

My name is Vincent Snyder and I’ve been on the road for almost six years. I am 14 and I have two younger brothers. I have three cats, Charlie, Stella and Lucy. Volunteering 25 hours per year during highschool is required for graduation. The shelter that I decided to volunteer with was North Beach Paws in Ocean Shores, WA. I chose to work with cats. 


While I was at North Beach Paws volunteering, I helped feed, water and clean the cat litter. I was there in the morning and at night. I helped the people that worked there with unloading and cleaning cats after they were spayed/neutered. I also helped clean cat pens for when a cat was sick or aggressive. 


I chose this shelter because it was only seven minutes up the road from where we were staying at the time. Their form for volunteering was also really easy to fill out. The people that worked at the shelter were really nice and easy to work with. 


My favorite part while I was there was spending time with the cats. This shelter had so many different varieties of cats! For the most part, the cats were nice and calm but some were scared or aggressive. 


While I was volunteering, my old cat Fiona died. I had her for around seven years but she had feline leukemia and developed a tumor that was attached to her heart so we had to put her down, sadly. Charlie was actually available for adoption at that time and was really friendly and greeted me when I walked into the room and was overall just a good cat. We ended up adopting her and so far she’s been a great addition to the family. 

Chester

Glen

Stella, Lucy, and Charlie

Other blogs you might like...

By Jennifer+ Aggio August 22, 2025
What’s the Difference?
By Doug S August 21, 2025
Lots of people end up looking at hybrid campers for a variety of reasons. Often times it is an individual coming from a pop-up who continues to want the canvas/tenting experience but wants the extra luxuries of a hard-sided trailer (bathroom, fridge that is at a natural height, etc.). Other times, it’s the prudent buyer […]
By Kirsten McCormick August 20, 2025
Over the last five weeks, I’ve had the joy of organizing and directing four completely different camps… each one unique, each one magical in its own way. This is the part of the year I look forward to all year long. During the rest of the year, I plan… I market… I research… I explore… and I promote these camps. I educate parents and prepare teens… but the camp itself is what I really live for. There’s something truly magical about being able to create and hold spaces for teens to show up as their authentic selves… to let go of the masks that protect them, that present a version of themselves they think the world wants to see… and instead just be who they really are. Watching this happen is incredible… and it happens so quickly.
By Jennifer Schillaci August 19, 2025
TechnoRV: Gear You Can Trust, From RVers Who Live the Life
By Shelley Dostie August 18, 2025
Creating a Sensory Spaces in Compact Homes: RV's and Tiny House's
By Jennifer Schillaci August 15, 2025
A Small Town with a Giant Prehistoric Legacy
By BG Barnstormer August 14, 2025
Having an RV that I call a “home sweet roam” can be just as cozy as any stationary “sticks and bricks” home. So how do you got about making your RV feel like home? Whether you’re wanting a full-on renovation or just adding some homey touches to your RV, I’m your go-to girl for all of it! My kids say that I should host my own RV Renovation show including organizing. (Maybe one day!) In our five years of owning various RV’s, we have either renovated (painted first and second rig) or decorated with wallpaper (3 rd rig I didn’t want to paint again!) Each RV has it’s own homey vibe and all have felt like a vacation station to return home to. If you’re wanting to paint or just add a few décor touches, read on and join me in sharing what we did with each rig to make it feel cozy.  When we got our first RV, we were going to be full-time travelers and I wanted to make our house on wheels feel like home. I talked to a friend who does design work and she said to me, “Don’t be afraid about using white. It will brighten up the space and you can add in color in other ways including pillows, curtains, and more.” Taking her advice to heart, we picked out paint and went down the path to figure out how to prep the cabinets and walls for painting. In a mater of a few weeks, our RV interior went from brown cabinets and walls to what and I immediately felt the difference of lightness when we walked into it.
By Jennifer Skinnell August 13, 2025
5 Things We Learned
By Jennifer Schillaci August 12, 2025
While traditional students head back to school, roadschoolers can gather just about anywhere to celebrate learning on their own terms.
By Jennifer+ Aggio August 11, 2025
Our Mission: Education, Adventure & Community
Show More