Volunteer Opportunities
NOTE TO POTENTIAL VOLUNTEERS: We find ourselves in the amazing position of having more volunteers wishing to socialize the cats in the shelter than we can fit into the schedule! Please consider volunteering for some of the other activities that are critical to our mission:
- Help raise funds for our medical loan program by joining a Special Projects team! Our Agility Ring Crew will be staffing two separate events this Fall – and the answer is "yes, we need need you!" This is one of the few volunteer activities which occur on weekends, and in which you can earn 8 Community Service hours each day you work! Read more about it....
- Foster homes! Did you realize that all of our dogs are in foster homes? And did you realize that the reason we can't help more dogs and cats is because we don't have more foster homes? Read more about what is involved...
Without volunteers, Animal Aid would not exist. That’s why we’re
always in need of dedicated volunteers to help care for animals during
their stay at the shelter. If you love animals and can spare as little
as one morning or evening per week, our animals need you!
On-site volunteers, supervised by a paid staff person or experienced
volunteer, provide food, water, brushing, love and attention to our
animals, and assist with cleaning kennels, washing dishes and laundry,
and changing litter boxes and bedding. And don't forget that the human
rooms need regular maintenance as well!
What times are you needed?
Most of our day-to-day operations take place Monday through Friday, and this particularly applies to socializing activities (petting and playing with the cats). Saturday is reserved for our adoption counselors to greet "Show and Tell" visitors, and Sunday is a day of rest for the kitties, this means we do NOT schedule socializers on weekends.
Our weekend volunteer opportunities include:
- Cleaning, providing food, water and possibly medication for the shelter cats each morning and early evening.
- Adoption counseling (Note: this requires a fairly long training period)
- Assisting at outreach activities by staffing a wide variety of events ranging from adoption events to simply having a presence at a neighborhood fair.
- Helping with specific fundraising events like our "Cute Critters in Costumes" Photo event in the Fall.
- Joining a Special Projects team earning funds to support the Animal Aid pets and our various programs – a good example of this is our Agility Ring Crew, which earns money for our emergency medical loan fund by helping out at canine agility events. This is a good way to earn four to 28 Community Service hours in a single weekend.
Concerning Young Volunteers
Some of our most diligent and committed workers have been young folks, and we can't say enough good things about them. However recent events prompt us to add the following requirement for new volunteers, effective immediately:
- Anyone under 15 years of age must be accompanied by a parent on their first visit. The parent must stay for the full visit in order to learn about volunteer expectations.
- Youths under 13 must be accompanied by an adult or responsible teen during all their volunteer activity. After a probationary period of a few visits, if a young volunteer proves to be responsible, we may offer that youth the option of volunteering unaccompanied.
What Kinds of Help Do We Need?
We have something to fit every personality and skill level:
Work directly with the animals
|
Help maintain the animals' home
|
Help with technical activities
|
Help with organizational activities
|
|
