Volunteer
Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Five Acres Animal Shelter!
We have over 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?
The dogs and cats in our shelter need human contact and often have to re-learn trust. From providing daily care & feeding, to cleaning and enrichment, we have the following volunteer opportunities:
Dog Walkers – Our 84 Weekly Dog Walkers represent the core of Five Acres Dog Walking volunteers, and provide hands-on animal care, exercise, enrichment, and socialization, as well as assist with other shelter tasks, including laundry and dishes. No matter the weather, our Weekly Walkers are committed to coming for their weekly shifts to get the dogs out in rain, sunshine, snow, heat and cold!
Kitty Cottage Care Team – Kitty Cottage volunteers are asked to volunteer with our cats/kittens a minimum of 6 hours per month, helping to keep the Kitty Cottage clean and tidy, making sure that the environment provides a safe temporary home until they find their new family.
As you might imagine the shelter needs help beyond direct animal care! We have many opportunities for volunteers to donate time to Five Acres in other necessary and appreciated ways, including:
- Supporting our AniMeals Pet Food Pantry Program
- Become a Front Desk/Reception volunteer
- Help out with projects on our Maintenance Crew
- Assist our staff and vet with the Spay Neuter Clinic.
- Become a Special Events volunteer – join an Auction item committee who works to gather items, help plan and execute our events, or volunteer at our events!
What you need to know before submitting a Volunteer Application!
Volunteer Requirements:
Five Acres Animal Shelter volunteers are self-motivated, mature, 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 not, please visit our Youth Engagement page for ideas on how kids 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.
- 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 Better Impact, our volunteer management software program, as well as an email address that is checked regularly to receive information about your volunteer opportunities and shelter updates?
- Are you able to adhere to and follow volunteer program guidelines and policies, as outlined in our Volunteer Handbook?
- All potential volunteers are required to submit a volunteer application, pay a $20 registration fee, view an online orientation video, attend a 30 minute Connect with Kate Volunteer Planning meeting, and complete any additional training, depending on the area(s) of your interests. Do you agree to follow these steps?
- At this time, we are not accepting court ordered community service participants, or those who have been advised by an attorney to get service hours in advance of a court date.
*PLEASE READ*
- Are you able to make at least a 6-month commitment to a regular, weekly volunteer shift? Dog walkers are asked to commit to a specific day and time to walk dogs per week, dependent on our scheduling needs at the time of you submitting your application. AT THIS TIME, our greatest dog walking needs are Fridays from 1-3pm, Fridays from 4:30-6pm, Saturdays from 1-3pm, Saturdays from 4:30-6pm. Our greatest Kitty Cottage needs are from 9-11:30am and 4-6pm on several days of the week. If those days and times do not work for your schedule, please check back in within a month or two to see if needs have changed.
If you answered “no” to one or more of these questions, the Five Acres Animal Shelter Volunteer Program may not be the best fit for you. If you have questions, free to connect with us by sending an email to volunteer@fiveacresanimalshelter.org.
If you answered yes to ALL of the questions, please submit a Volunteer Application!