Archived News

Congratulations to Our 2022 Volunteer of the Year – Phuoc H. Le
Phouc H. Le has been volunteering with the Peter Zippi Memorial Fund since 2018 holding down one of our most challenging shifts; closing on a Saturday. Phuoc has never missed a shift. In fact, she arrives early and often covers when someone else is absent. She is a reliable role-model for everyone she comes into contact with by setting the tone and providing exceptional hands-on care to our cats and kittens as well as comprehensive after shift reports. Phuoc teaches new volunteers and strengthens team building. She is inclusive, humorous, and kind. We thank Phuouc for her generous spirit and the unwavering support she provides to all cats, kittens and people.
Thank You to the Hyla Marrow Trust!
Hyla was born in 1950 and became an accomplished gymnast and dancer, leading to a long career as a stuntwoman and actress in over 80 films. She was also a successful day-trader and a passionate cat-lover who created a Trust that since her death in 2016 has benefited over 60 organizations that help homeless cats find medical care and forever homes. Peter Zippi Memorial Fund is grateful to be one of those groups and thanks the Hyla Marrow Trust for its generous support of our rescue and adoption efforts in 2022.


2021 Volunteer of the Year
Gayle Kirma
We have staff scheduled seven days of the week to work in our cat rooms ensuring the areas are clean and our charges remain happy and healthy through proper diets, enrichment, as well as medication and supplements when needed. Consistency is key to a cat’s well-being which means our policies and procedures must be documented and shifts must be covered. One can probably imagine the Herculean effort it takes to provide proper documentation and manage 20+ people in 6 daily two hour shifts. That is why our 2021 Volunteer of the Year is our Volunteer Manager, Gayle Kirma. When we received the green light to allow adult volunteers back into the facility she sprung into action, contacting every single pre-COVID volunteer to determine who would be returning and what their shift preferences were. Gayle built a well-rounded schedule taking everyone’s preferences and skill-sets into consideration in just a few weeks. In addition to managing their coming and going, Gayle continues to recruit so we have 12 hours of continuous coverage 6 days per week.
2019 Volunteer of the Year
Carol Christensen
Peter Zippi Memorial Fund Inc is so fortunate to have Carol as part of our volunteer family, and we celebrate her as the 2019 Volunteer of the Year. Learn more about her contributions by clicking here.
Congratulations to our 2018 Volunteer of the Year!
Congratulations to our 2017 Volunteer of the Year!
Orphaned newborn kittens are not planned. Learn about our Volunteer of the Year for 2017, Judi McEachen here.
Our Volunteers of the Year for 2016 are
Christine Lugo and Jeff Kardatzke.

Together taking charge of our website and all other social media, they have improved the quality and coverage that PZF has seen this past year. We now have story and photo displays for all our cats and kittens, increasing adoptions. Facebook now gets top attention. Not only are there always new pictures of our adoptable cats, but many adopters share their pictures of new family members. PLEASE “Like” us on Facebook! Our website has also been enhanced with more timely notice to readers of off site adoptions, changes in our on site adoptions, and events in which we encourage their participation or support. We feel so fortunate and happy to introduce Christine and Jeff as the PZF volunteers of the year.
Learn More About Us
CLICK HERE to read this informative article in the Beach Reporter. It’s a great article which includes our inception in 1977 through current day.

photo by Jacquelyne May
Founder of The Peter Zippi Fund for Animals, Dr. Alice Villalobos
Is named “Woman of the Year” by the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau. This is a great honor, we are very proud of our Founder who started rescuing dogs and cats as a child and continues to this day.
2015 Volunteer of the Year, Evelyn Senior, took on the job of Grant Coordinator and helped PZF receive a generous grant from Best Friends Animal Society. Click here to read more about Evelyn’s contributions.
Welcome to the new PZF Neff/Hoskinson Hostel!






After years of dreaming about it, our new hostel is finally a reality and a great showplace for all our adoptable “kids”.
Volunteer Christine Lugo and her husband, Jeffrey Kardatzke, donated one set of the very modern cages and Cynthia Higgins donated the other. These will house the cats and kittens when they are not out playing in the room.
We’re very proud of our many volunteers who worked tirelessly on the financing, the construction and the decorations, too.
We’d love to have you stop by and see it for yourself; perhaps even meet your new forever pet. The hostel is located in the lobby of the VCA Coast Animal Hospital in Hermosa Beach.