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Philly is Kat Kendon’s adopted home. Her family hails from Boston, but she had moved around, mainly along the East Coast, until she landed on the 400 block of Emily Street two years ago. In addition to her photography work, she made a commitment to herself to make volunteering a priority — that’s where Red Paw Emergency Relief Team came into play.
She offered to take photos of the animals needing adoption, when founder Jen Leary asked if she’d be able to come to the scenes of fires where Red Paw rescues pets at affected homes and provides shelter while the owner gets back on his or her feet, or if the individual can no longer provide for the pet, finds it a new home. While the call asking Kendon to go to the scene could be at any hour of the day, she became engrossed in the process.
“You’re out there helping people with the worst day of their life,” Kendon, who has a beagle named Canada and two cats named Corso and Sabine, said.
She soon started to help out with things outside of the realm of photography, including running the Philadelphia program and starting to do outreach to get a Camden, N.J., unit operating. Therefore, she spends a lot of time focused on the nonprofit.
“My day job is a full-time job, and I travel and Red Paw is another full-time job on top of that,” the 34-year-old said.
At one call at a West Philly apartment building, she and Leary responded to the top floor where they found a man crying and digging through debris. Instances like seeing that man’s reaction after he found his cat and kitten have had an impact on Kendon.
“It has totally changed my view and made my life so much richer,” she said. “… He wouldn’t have been to be able to keep his pets if we hadn’t provided them a place to stay while he got relocated.”
Kendon had already started to sense that she found her home in South Philly, but this honor has helped to solidify that feeling.
“I’m so flattered,” she said as she started to get emotional. “Doing volunteer work and to be recognized within a few years, it really makes me feel like — it’s exactly what I wanted out of life without knowing what I wanted.”
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
2013 Difference Makers
/ Bruce Baldwin / Anthony Benedetto Sr. / Lou Berman / Beth Coleman /
/ Diane DellaVella / Phyllis DiLemmo /
/ Roe and Jim Gallo / Tyrique Glasgow / Ali Hackett / Deborah Holmes /
/ Kat Kendon / Harry McKay / Jaime Pannone / Juanita Perkins-Qui /
/ Gaetano Piccirilli / Megan Rosenbach / Ted Scairato Sr /
/ Rich Sisman / Dan Stevenson / Paula Terreri / Lynn Oakes West / Lawrence Whitaker / Robert Wilbowe / Ilene Wilder /
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