Ways You Can Volunteer with Your Local Animal Shelter

Are you an animal lover? Do you want to help your furry friends? Are you thinking about volunteering your time to a good cause?

Consider becoming a volunteer with your local animal shelter! Almost every shelter needs caring volunteers to help take care of the pets in their care.

If you enjoy working directly with animals, you'll find lots of opportunities at your local animal shelter. You can walk or play with dogs, which often need socializing and "good manners" training. You can also pet and play with cats, which need to spend time with people so they aren't afraid of humans. You can groom pets, feed them and take care of them in many other ways, too.

But what if you don't want to work "hands on" with animals? Many people, heartbroken by the homeless pets in the shelter, find themselves unable to work directly with the animals. However, there are still plenty of ways you can help! Consider...

Administrative Work! Every animal shelter had administrative needs. You may be able to volunteer your time answering phones or filing paperwork. If you have writing skills, you can help write grant proposals for the shelter. Some shelters also publish newsletters and fliers, so you can volunteer your time writing, printing or mailing these publications.

Fundraising Jobs! Most shelters rely on donations from the public as their main source of revenue. Because of this, they need active volunteers to organize and create fundraising events! You could become the head of a committee that runs a bake sale, car wash, yard sale or other event. You might also consider writing or mailing fliers to publicize fundraisers. You can even volunteer to work at the event--for example, by baking a cake or washing cars.

Publicity Work! Many animal shelters try to publicize both the organization and the homeless pets. Possible publicity events include booths or tables at fairs, festivals or even inside pet shops. You can volunteer by spending a few hours manning the booth, where you pass out literature and talk to the public. If you have the expertise, you may be able to serve as a press liaison or a public relations coordinator for the animal shelter.