Star of Queens: Tatiana Grobelkiewicz
Volunteer, Heavenly Angels Animal rescue in Ozone Park
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Tatiana Grobelkiewicz’s duties at the shelter consist of walking the dogs, cleaning the cages, assisting customers and helping out at events that the shelter participates in. She also gets to exercise her passion for photography by taking photos of the rescued pets, which she then posts on Petfinder.com, a national pet adoption site.
PERSONAL: Grobelkiewicz was born in Poland and moved to Astoria when she was four years old. When her grandmother, an animal lover herself, passed away, she left behind a lot of blankets and food and water bowls. While searching for a place to donate them, Grobelkiewicz came across Heavenly Angels. Eventually she found herself coming in on the weekends to help out. One day she brought her camera and started posting photos of the animals on Petfinder. Once a former volunteer at the shelter had moved, Grobelkiewicz took over the duties she enjoys to this day.
FAVORITE MEMORY: “Oh my gosh, there’s too many,” she said. If she had to choose just one, she would collectively count all of the photos she’s taken as her favorite memory.
“I feel like my pictures can make a difference,” she said. “When someone comes in to the shelter and says, ‘Oh my gosh, I loved the picture on the website,’ I feel like I’m doing something important.”
INSPIRATION: Her love of photography and the people she volunteers with are the things that motivate Grobelkiewicz. She said she likes being able to use photography with her volunteer efforts because it allows her to be creative. Furthermore, she is very fond of the people she works with at the shelter.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE: A lack of recognition is what Grobelkiewicz considers to be the biggest hurdle Heavenly Angels currently faces. While she loves seeing comments on the shelter’s Facebook page from people pleased with their recent pet adoption, she feels Heavenly Angels could have more of a public presence. She also added that the shelter could always use more volunteers.
