Top 5 Ways to Volunteer for Pets in 2021
Written by: Richard Rowland
Interested in giving back during the giving season? Want to make a difference? Or maybe you're an Only Natural Pet team member that hasn't used their 8 hours of volunteer time off, yet (hint, hint!).
Consider volunteering for pets. December 5th was International Volunteer Day, and it's a fantastic reminder to support a cause you care about. In this blog post, we'll provide some inspiration by sharing our top 5 ways to volunteer for pets in 2021.
1) Exercise and Socialize Shelter Animals
Want to spend time with adorable pets and help improve their quality of life? Consider volunteering to exercise and socialize shelter animals. Many animal shelters are understaffed and scheduling regular exercise and socialization time for shelter animals can be challenging.
Volunteering to help exercise and socialize shelter pets is a great way to make an impact, while also having fun! To get started, contact your local animal shelter and ask if they could use your help. Just a few hours a week can make a world of difference for shelter animals. Not sure where to volunteer? AnimalShelter.org has compiled a list of animal shelters across the United States.
2) Foster a Pet
Animal shelters are always in need of great foster carers. By fostering a pet, you can provide a shelter animal with much-needed TLC until they can find their forever home. To be a great foster pet parent, you'll need to be committed, reliable, and responsible. In addition, you'll need to provide a safe and comfortable environment for the animal in your care.
If fostering sounds like something you'd enjoy doing, start by contacting an animal shelter in your area and ask about their foster program. Some shelters will even provide training and supplies to help you become a successful foster pet parent.
3) Volunteer Your Skills
In addition to time and energy, many animal shelters can benefit from specialized skills. Are you a graphic designer? A web developer? An accountant or tax preparer? Maybe you're good at social media management or copywriting? If you have a skill that can help an animal shelter, consider donating your time and talent.
Animal shelters are often short on funds and would love your help designing flyers, building their website, organizing an event, preparing taxes, or other important tasks that help them meet their goals. If you're interested in volunteering your skills, start by contacting your local animal shelter and asking about their most pressing needs.
4) Transport Shelter Animals
Shelter animals often need to travel in order to find their forever home. They also need to be transported to places like the veterinarian's office or vaccination clinic. But unfortunately, transportation can be expensive and time-consuming for animal shelters.
By volunteering your car, you can provide animal shelters with much-needed assistance transporting shelter pets to and from veterinary appointments, adoption fairs, and more. To get started as a volunteer transporter, contact your local animal shelter and ask about their transportation needs.
5) Help Organize Community Events
Animal shelters are always short on funds and could use your help organizing community events like fun runs, pet adoptions, or awareness days. If you're an animal lover with a knack for planning community events, consider getting involved by helping plan an event for your local animal shelter.
To get started, contact the shelter and ask if they need help organizing community events. In addition to helping out with events, consider donating items the organization can give away as prizes or raffle off at future fundraisers and awareness days. You may even be able to convince local businesses to donate items as well.
Get Started!
We hope you found this post useful and inspiring. Please visit the Humane Society of the United States website if you want to learn more about volunteer opportunities in your state.
