Volunteer Program

Jill’s Next Door Feline Alliance Program is a self-funded advocacy and feline adoption program created as an alliance with local pet rescues around Broward and Palm Beach Counties to aid Florida’s cat population. FAP also helps the community by holding fundraisers, creating awareness, and uniting people to help cats in need. FAP is on call for any person or rescue that needs assistance in cat care, and provides resources to aid the process.

About Jill MERJESKI

Jill founded FAP after fostering, fundraising, and creating alliances with rescues to help often forgotten about cat colonies and be of assistance to the community who need guidance in cat rescue, impacting thousand of kitties each year.

CAT COLONY FEEDER

Jill started her rescue efforts by recognizing South Florida’ overpopulated cat community. As she fed these vulnerable colonies, she aimed to limit overbreeding. and became a Certified Trap, Neutered, and Release Professional through the Animal Rescue Professionals Association.

HOME KITTEN NURSERY

Since the number of Jill’s fosters and adoptions continued to climb, Jill created a home nursery dedicated to foster kitties. The nursery includes: wall cat mazes, pack and plays, playpens, toys, in addition to supplies for bottle feeding babies (heat lamps, heating pads, medicine, weight scales, etc).

FOSTER HOME CERTIFIED

While trapping some of the more vulnerable felines, Jill knew these kitties needed forever homes. She became a foster parent to over 250 cats and kittens, finding them loving homes while providing shelter, food, and medical care. She also became a ARPA Certified Foster Home.

EDUCATION

As FAP continued to grow, Jill grew her cat care knowledge base to better serve cats. She completed several online cat care classes, specializations, and certifications. The skill set she learned through PSI’S Cat Care specialization program is essential to her day to day care for her rescue and client felines.

JILL'S NEXT DOOR GIVES BACK

Since FAP is self-funded, a percentage of proceeds earned from JND is dedicated to caring for fosters and colony kitties (food, supplies, medical and monetary donations). We also gladly accept donations from the generous community.

EVENTS & SPONSORSHIPS

Jill’s Next Door has sponsored and volunteered with local animal rescue events held annually in Palm Beach County. You can read more about our community sponsored events here.

RESCUE BUSINESS MODEL

FAP partnered with Florida’s Forgotten Felines, an organization dedicated to feeding over 850 cats in over 70 colonies in Palm Beach County. FFF was in need of an updated website and business model to raise awareness and to increase donations. Jill built and designed an engaging website, redesigned their logo, and developed a hiring system to onboard qualified cat feeders, pro bono.

FUNDRAISE & BUILD

Jill and her team member Tony Sakal have founded a residential cat farm in Loxahatchee, FL. FAP raised over $2,500 to build a catio (cat patio) shelter for disabled, elderly, or unadoptable cats, found through FAP. The catio serves to protect these souls from predators while providing standard cat and medical care. This project gave a team of volunteers paid work during the pandemic lockdown. FAP houses a dedication plaque to honor our generous catio donors.

PET ADOPTION ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR

The Pet Adoption Advocate Award through Pet Sitters International recognizes Jill Merjeski, in Delray Beach, Florida, for her efforts to help feral cats and promote South Florida pet adoptions and online pet advocacy.

PETATARIAN OF THE YEAR

The Petatarian Award honors an individual, company or organization that has made outstanding efforts to improve the pet care industry through humanitarian or animal welfare efforts or education and industry development.