No matter what a non-profit organization represents or what their cause is they all have one thing in common…..the need for volunteers. Many people do not realize just how important it is to an organization to have group of dedicated volunteers. Volunteers are the backbone of these organizations and they rely on them more than people realize.
Volunteers help in many different functions
Whether you are volunteering for a animal rescue group or your local shelter or a environmental action group or anything in between, they all have one thing in common. They need staff to move forward in their good works. Most of the time that staff is a volunteer one. They handle incoming calls and mailings and website administration. They open mail and they volunteer in the financial area. They could be administrating a fundraiser. They write letters and stuff envelopes. They greet visitors. Sometimes they work an hour, sometimes they work 4 or 5 hours. No matter how many hours a day or week they work, it helps an organization function. Often times these volunteers are also able to work from home.
Rescue Groups Rely Heavily on Volunteers
There are many rescue groups throughout the world. Their main goal is to rescue animals in distress and re-home them in a forever home. They have their own unique needs in the area of volunteers. Volunteers serve as intake workers, adoption counselors, do home visits for adoption approvals, serve as foster homes and travel coordinators to bring dogs and cats from one area to another. Many times adoption applications are done online and they will be the ones that review the adoption applications. Most rescue organizations do not have kennels so they rely completely on their foster care system. Depending on the organization, a foster becomes approved after a home inspection. Most rescue organizations require a fenced in yard for a dog and indoor homes for cats. Rescues come in often times with health problems or grooming issues. They may have bad indoor manners but a key ingredient is that they all need love and patience and understanding. Their life is in turmoil at that point. If you have patience and love than that might just be the right place for you to help out. Most organizations are in desperate need of foster homes. These rescue groups are not just for dogs and cats. There are goat rescues and horse rescues out there as well as places for guinea pigs, rabbits, birds, mice and other types of farm animals such as chickens and pigs.
Animal Shelters
Volunteering at an animal shelter is different because the animals are there and they have a whole different set of wants and needs. Spending time in the cat room cuddling as well as cleaning is a very common volunteer area. Dog walkers bring some joy into dogs that otherwise would be confined to a kennel. Volunteers staff the front desk and greet visitors and take them into the various kennel areas. They maintain the animal records and medicate animals as per the veterinarian on staff. They do animal intakes and adoptions. Depending on the type of shelter they also have the saddest duty of all and that is to euthanize the ones left behind. That is a definite down to volunteering at a Kill-Shelter. The only thing those volunteers can do is at least know that they helped an animals last hours to be comfortable.
Environmental/Animal Legislation
Volunteers are needed in this area as well. Many times they are put to work gathering information and may be a great person to do some lobbying for or against a particular bill. Most of the work done through these Legislative groups is done through the media so fundraising is a very big part of their organization. Helping with fundraising is a very big part of a volunteer’s help in this area.
Disaster Relief
It takes a special person to become part of this team. Most to these types of organizations have a very specific training program because often times these are among the first to arrive when a disaster has struck. Noah’s Wish is one of the premier Disaster Relief teams in the United States. A visit to their website will find a list of 27 different volunteer opportunities within their organization. This includes many non-disaster positions. The disaster teams require that a person be 18 to work as part of the team and they must be 21 to work in search and rescue which becomes a very large effort in times of disaster such as Hurricane Katrina last year. To be a Field volunteer you do need to attend special training and this is often offered usually throughout the United States.
Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) is another completely volunteer driven Disaster Relief organization. EARS volunteers are trained to shelter, care for and reunite displaced animals when communities become overburdened by a natural or human-caused disaster.
With more than 2,600 trained EARS volunteers, UAN can respond to disasters anywhere in the United States and Canada within 24 hours. For further information on becoming an EARS volunteer please visit the link below
Environmental Volunteers
Many organizations that service our National Parks and recreation areas rely heavily on a volunteer base. Volunteering could encompass anything from maintaining trails, cleaning parks and recreation areas of debris, and wildlife observations and counting. One group that relies on a volunteer base is the Appalachian Trails Conservancy. Volunteers built the Appalachian Trail, and volunteers keep it alive and flourishing today. More than 5,500 men and women contributed more than 195,000 hours of their time last year to the trail, and their maintaining clubs can always use more hands.
Volunteer programs are designed to appeal to people with diverse talents, interests and experience levels. Trail crews spend a week or more living in the backcountry and accomplishing the hard work of relocations, bridge building and footpath rehabilitation. Environmental monitors gather information about air and water quality, wildlife habitat and forest health. ATC administrative offices have a variety of needs – from working with visitors during the peak hiking season to building membership packets to volunteer internships. And, trail-maintaining clubs are where the real day-to-day trail work takes place, from Maine to Georgia. To learn more about their program follow the link below.
Parks and Recreation Volunteers
Most parks and recreation facilities whether they are city, county, state or national government run rely on volunteers to help them. Volunteers perform a wide variety of tasks from special events to the day-to-day operation of the park itself. Maryland Parks and Recreations is one place that relies on their volunteers . The opportunities to volunteer with the M-NCPPC Department of Parks and Recreation are almost unlimited. You can choose from long term positions such as animal caretakers or historic docent to volunteering at a one-day special event such as a festival. You can also become a park ambassador by joining our Partners 'n Parks program.
Teens, college students and others looking for service learning hours can easily obtain hours by volunteering in a long or short term volunteer position. All you need to do is read their opportunities lists, complete an application and mail it to the site to begin your volunteer partnership. The best way to volunteer for your local Parks and Recreations is to see if they have a website and take a look at their volunteer opportunities.
Zoo Volunteers
Zoos throughout the United States do have volunteer opportunities in various departments. Often times the volunteers are the core of the Education Department and will conduct educational tours of the zoo. Many times you will find zoos that have educational carts set up throughout the zoo where children can learn about the animals that are seen at the zoo. Often times it is the only way city children learn about these animals and animal conservation efforts.
Volunteers enrich the zoo with their enthusiasm, knowledge and dedication. They provide visitors with meaningful and engaging information about the Zoo's living collections in a way that conveys environmental messages relevant to peoples lives.
The Philadelphia Zoo is considered the oldest Zoo in the United States. For many years it has relied on a volunteer base in their education department. The volunteers are a member of the docent council. Volunteering at the Zoo offers a tremendous opportunity to become involved with the Zoo's animals, educational programs and conservation efforts. Zoo volunteers and docents act as members of the Zoo team and are an integral part of everything we do. Volunteering is a wonderfully rewarding experience that directly benefits the Zoo and helps us advance our mission and goals. Whether you enjoy educating children, interacting with the public or photographing animals, the Zoo has a place for you!
The Philadelphia Zoo Docent Council, founded in 1972, is one of the oldest and, with approximately 200 members, one of the largest docent organizations in the Philadelphia area. Their docents are a diverse group of men and women who, working with the Zoo's education department, share their enthusiasm for animals, wildlife and conservation with Zoo visitors and the community.
Docent is a word derived from the Latin docere, which means teacher. Today it refers to volunteer teachers. Each docent completes a training program that includes conservation, biology, Zoo history, animal behavior, adaptations, habitats and more. They also learn specific information about the animals in the Philadelphia Zoo and the Zoo's art, architecture and horticulture. Teaching techniques are included in the docent curriculum as well, since not all docents have teaching backgrounds.
Docents participate in a variety of programs within and outside the Zoo. In the Zoo, they give guided tours, ranging from general tours to special tours on adaptations, endangered species, habitats, Zoo horticulture, art and architecture. Docents also staff Just Ask carts and mobile stations located throughout the Zoo where docents use artifacts and biofacts to engage the public in conversation, answer questions and serve as interpreters of the animal kingdom.
Docents also contribute to offsite outreach efforts through audio-visual presentations and programs such as Earth Savers. The Ask-a-Docent program gives inquisitive youngsters and adults visiting the Zoo online an opportunity to have animal-related questions answered.
To advance Docent Council communications, docents publish a quarterly newsletter, Docent Data, which contains news about Zoo programs and exhibits, book reviews and in-depth articles about animals and conservation.
The Atlanta Zoo offers a Volunteen program. The Volunteen Program is designed for young adults ages 14-17 and focuses on building a ladder of leadership, interpersonal and job skills while fostering responsibility, developing customer service skills and instilling a sense of commitment.
New Volunteens will interact with the public by providing hands on activities and answering questions at select animal exhibits. Interpretation and activities will be located at the following exhibits: Golden Lion Tamarin, Outback Station, Elephants, Lions, Tigers and Clouded Leopard, Wonderful Wetlands, Komodo Dragon and Chilean Flamingos.
Volunteens will have additional opportunities over the course of the year to become involved in areas such as Summer Safari Day Camp, Horticulture, Special Events and Animal Enrichment. This program depends on a one-year commitment, not only from the teen, but also from his or her entire family who will provide transportation, encouragement, support and cooperation.
Based on their performance and overall commitment to the zoo during their first year, returning teens may be given other leadership opportunities including helping in animal care and husbandry, assisting in the animal nutrition kitchen, mentoring new Volunteens and supporting Volunteer Resources. To learn more about it visit their website at http://www.zooatlanta.org/support_us_volunteens.htm
Volunteering is good for everyone
No matter where you choose to volunteer you will be helping out in areas of education, animal care, animal rescue and you as a volunteer will take away with you the feeling that you have accomplished something and done something for that benefits everyone whether it is environmental, animal related or nature related. Encourage everyone you know to volunteer and you are even doing more good.
Web Links
Maryland Parks and Recreations Volunteers: http://www.pgparks.com/things/volunteer.html
Volunteer Information with EARS: http://www.uan.org/index.cfm?navid=34
How to Volunteer at Your Local Shelter (a Humane Society publication): http://www.hsus.org/pets/animal_shelters/how_to_volunteer_at_your_local_animal_shelter.html
Appalachian Trail Volunteer Program: http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.jkLXJ8MQKtH/b.715469/k.E966/Volunteer.htm