Volunteer with us!
Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Five Acres Animal Shelter.
We have almost 200 volunteers who help us with day to day animal care needs and a variety of opportunities and programs to fit the needs of our community. We are excited to connect with community members who are as dedicated and enthusiastic about animals as we are!
How do volunteers help out at Five Acres?
It is our goal to provide our shelter pets with care, love and comfort while they await their adoption day. From providing daily care and feeding, to cleaning and enrichment, Five Acres volunteers support all aspects of our daily shelter operations and help ensure our cats and dogs are happy and healthy.
OUR VOLUNTEER POSITIONS & ROLES:
Canine Clubhouse Dog Walkers: Five Acres dog walkers provide hands-on animal care, exercise, enrichment, and socialization for our shelter dogs. We especially are looking for people with previous dog walking experience, specifically with larger, stronger dogs. No matter the weather, our walkers are committed to coming in for their weekly shifts to get the dogs out in rain, sunshine, and snow! Being a dog walker at Five Acres requires additional basic training. We would also love volunteers to come in bright and early to make sure the dogs have their kennels tidied up and cleaned for the day!
Kitty Cottage Care Team: Our feline volunteers care for our shelter cats and kittens. Volunteers help ensure our cat spaces are clean and tidy, while feeding, socializing, and helping with other tasks in the Kitty Cottage.
AniMeals Pet Food Pantry: Every Saturday our AniMeals volunteers help distribute pet food and supplies to community members in need. AniMeals volunteers are an essential part of our volunteer team, and help ensure our community pets have what they need to stay in their loving homes.
Front Desk/Reception: During our open hours, Front Desk Reception volunteers greet visitors, answer phone calls, and support our staff in a variety of administrative roles.
Maintenance Crew: Are you handy at fixing things? Perhaps you enjoy grounds keeping or painting? Volunteers on our maintenance team help keep the Five Acres facilities working efficiently for both our people and pets!
Spay/Neuter Clinic: Our clinic volunteers support our veterinarian and vet techs on spay/neuter surgery days.
Events Team: Join the Events Team to support upcoming fundraising and community events, fill volunteer roles for events, help to gather items for events auction/raffle, and more!
What you need to know before submitting a volunteer application.
Five Acres Animal Shelter volunteers are self-motivated, sensitive, and dependable. If you are interested in joining our volunteer team, below is a list of questions that you should ask yourself to make sure that volunteering with us is a good fit for you:
- Are you over the age of 18? The minimum age to volunteer directly with our animals is 18. If you are not 18, please visit our Youth Engagement page for ideas on how people under 18 can help animals in our care.
- Do you have health insurance? All Five Acres Animal Shelter volunteers are required to be covered under their own health insurance policy. There are no exceptions to this. We require all volunteers to sign our liability waiver through the application process.
- Do you meet the Essential Capabilities of Five Acres Animal Shelter Volunteers needed to volunteer safely?
- Do you have reliable access to the internet to access our volunteer management program (Better Impact), as well as an email address that is checked regularly to receive information and updates?
- Are you able to adhere to and follow volunteer program guidelines and policies, as outlined in our Volunteer Handbook?
- Are you able to make at least a 6-month commitment to a regular, weekly volunteer shift?
- Are you seeking court-ordered community service hours? At this time we are not able to accommodate court ordered community service participants, or individuals with a recommendation from their attorney to complete hours in anticipation of a court date.
If you fulfill the requirements above, please continue to our volunteer application below.
Please note: all potential volunteers are required to submit a volunteer application, pay a $20 registration fee, view an online orientation video, attend a 30 minute volunteer planning meeting with our Volunteer Manager, and complete any additional training, depending on the area(s) of your interests.
Thank you!
If you have questions, feel free to connect with us by sending an email to kate@fiveacresanimalshelter.org or CLICK HERE to check out our Volunteer FAQ!
Thank you so much for your interest in volunteering with us!