Unlimited Paid Volunteer Time Leads to Unexpected Friendship.

Inspired to Give Back.

At Gate City Bank, team members receive unlimited paid time to volunteer, and when they give at least 10 hours to nonprofits in communities the bank serves, the bank also donates to those organizations.

When Ava joined Gate City Bank’s marketing team, she quickly noticed something about the people around her: They didn’t just talk about giving back. They got involved.

So many of Ava’s team members volunteered with different nonprofits that she started looking for ways she could make a difference, too. Then she attended an event at PetSmart featuring dogs from 4 Luv of Dog Rescue, and she was hooked.

Making a Difference, One Dog at a Time.

4 Luv of Dog is a fully volunteer-run organization that rescues and rehomes dogs, primarily through foster families. Ava began volunteering at the rescue by helping care for the dogs in the emergency shelter in Moorhead, MN, while they waited for a foster home to become available. She did everything from feeding and giving them water to letting them outside and spending time playing with them.

What she found most meaningful was seeing how much the dogs could change when given another chance.

“It’s amazing to see that they can take dogs who have been in awful situations and completely turn their lives around,” she said.

How Volunteering Helped Ava Find Her Best Friend.

Ava’s experience eventually became even more personal when she met CJ. He was timid, shy and so thin, she could see his ribs. After Ava brought him home, he followed her everywhere.

Today, CJ is a completely different dog.

“He plays with toys. He’s crazy. He runs in the backyard. He just has a great time,” Ava explained. “To see this timid dog become this really extroverted, crazy boy was just really, really cool to see.”