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Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Matters
Ingredients
Recipe
Nutritional Information
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Share how you’ve made a difference in your community to inspire others.
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Recipes for Action
How to Volunteer at an Animal Shelter
medium termit's all meonly free recipes

How to Volunteer at an Animal Shelter

A tuxedo cat sleeps on a shelf.
Image Credit: Ollie's Place.

Volunteer at an animal shelter to contribute to and connect with furry friends. 

Why this recipe matters

Shelters are usually reliant on volunteers to keep things running smoothly. You can make a big difference in the lives of so many animals by being a warm and reliable presence they can look forward to seeing each week! 

Ingredients

  • Research on shelters near you 
  • In-person visit  
  • Consistent availability 
  • A willingness to help and be part of a team! 
  • Prior experience working with animals (ideal) 

Recipe

1. Do some research. 

  • Questions to ask yourself: 
  • “What level of commitment am I prepared to take on?” 
  • “Is this a shelter that can accommodate my needs, such as fluctuating availability, anything accessibility related, or a fear of particular types of animals?”

2. Visit the rescues you're interested in before requesting more information. 

  • It’s an in-person visit, if you can! This allows you to check in with current volunteers to see what their experience has been like, and also acquaint yourself with your new animal pals. 

3. Submit an application. 

  • Once you decide on the shelter you’d like to move forward with, locate the volunteer section of their website and follow their application instructions. Every shelter will be different—some may only require you to reach out to a volunteer coordinator via email with basic information and availability, others may perform full background checks.

4. Continue to ask questions. 

  • After you show up for your official orientation, see if there are any animals who may be a little shy, or need special attention, or medical care.

5. Be reliable! 

  • Your fellow volunteers count on you to be there when you say you will be, so be sure to give plenty of notice when you can’t make it on time.

Nutritional Information

How this recipe has nurtured a community

“While volunteering at my local animal shelter, I found an extraordinary kind of love. The unique love and inspired hope of shelter pets. After all these years, working with shelter pets continues to soften my heart and feed my soul.” 

― Shannon Kopp, Author of Pound for Pound

Finishing Touch

What if you don’t live near a shelter at all? That’s also okay! In fact, Best Friends Animal Society offers ways to virtually volunteer you might want to check out.