Michelle Eisenhauer began volunteering for Perry County Humane Society (PCHS) in May 2007 in honor and remembrance of her beloved Chow Chow, who passed away the previous year.
“At the time, I didn’t think that I was quite ready yet to actually bring another dog into the household," Eisenhauer told SW Illinois News. "But I was missing my ‘puppy fix,’ so I thought what better way to get that satisfied than by volunteering hands-on with all kinds of critters at the society.”
While Eisenhauer currently serves as PCHS treasurer, she has held numerous positions with the organization, including volunteer coordinator, president and secretary. Eisenhauer said that although she has taken on a more behind-the-scenes role in recent years, she also occasionally participates in various fundraising efforts.
“There have been the occasional periods of rough patches along the way, either with finances and/or difficult decisions that needed to be made. But overall, the experience has been a pleasant one – and one that I will never regret making,” Eisenhauer said. “My favorite thing about my volunteer work has to be in knowing that while one person alone cannot save every stray or abandoned animal, the collaborative efforts of a great group of guys and gals together can accomplish so much. Overall, we all work so well together and the lives that we have saved and the friendships that we have made along the way have become absolutely priceless.”
Eisenhauer hopes to continue helping as many animals as she can.
”I love animals of all species, and not just your standard dog and cat breeds,” she said. “As long as I can continue to be of some assistance to that effort, I will be happy. I would like to eventually find someone who would perhaps be able to take over the behind-the-scenes tasks that I perform, so that I could re-enter as a more hands-on volunteer, working more one-on-one with the animals themselves.”
Besides helping animals, Eisenhauer said she has a desire to help those who are less fortunate and struggling with something in their lives, as well as a desire to help the environment through lessening her carbon footprint on the earth.
“I am constantly following various causes on social media, contributing either by mental or financial support where I can, and after a New Year’s resolution I made many years ago, I recycle as much as I possibly can,” Eisenhauer said. “It almost pains me if I have to actually throw something out as trash, if it can either be re-used or re-manufactured by someone or into something else. I have also been a huge supporter and a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, and other cancer-related causes in honor and memory of a best friend that I had lost to cancer, and for many other family members and friends who have either had the disease or succumbed to it.”
Eisenhauer, born and raised in Du Quoin, has resided in the area between Pinckneyville and Nashville for the past 15 and a half years. She holds an associate in science degree in accounting and business administration from John A. Logan College, and earned a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 1996.
Eisenhauer currently serves as senior accountant at the Pinckneyville Community Hospital. She has previously worked at the hospital as a payroll/accounting clerk and filled in for the surgery department upon becoming a certified surgical technologist.
In her spare time, Eisenhauer enjoys outdoor, nature-related and water-related activities, reading, crafting, traveling and attending concerts, the CMA Music Festival, air shows and car shows.
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