National Volunteer Week – April 16-22: A week set aside to celebrate volunteerism. It is the perfect time to say Thank you and the perfect time to encourage others to become volunteers.

Volunteers truly make a difference.
Volunteers are the foundation for success for most small non profit organizations. For animal welfare groups, animal shelters/rescues having a core group of dedicated volunteers is essential for them to accomplish their mission and goals.

Many of our local rescue groups operate totally with volunteer staff. They are always looking for help in so many areas.

We encourage you to consider volunteering as a very important way to give to the local pet community.

A few helpful suggestions to get you started:

1. Do an interest survey – What are some of your interests or skills that you have or that you would like to develop? Sometimes people are exploring a new area of interest totally unrelated to their current or past employment. List all of your interests and activities you like to do. Photography, event planning, social media are only a few ideas.

2. Look at your schedule and block out available times – some people have an hour or two a week that could be available for volunteer work. Other people might have one weekend a month available. For others it could be seasonal. It is important to be realistic in planning for volunteer work.

3. Explore some of the local shelters or rescues. You can check out their websites or social media sites. Pet adoption events or other pet events are great opportunities to meet staff or other volunteers from the many rescues.

4. Select a few rescues that you think would be a good fit for you. Take the initiative to meet with the person responsible for volunteers in those rescues. This will help determine if your interests, skills and schedule match what they are looking for in a volunteer.

Volunteering is very important – there are so many ways to offer your time and talents – take the necessary steps today to become a valued volunteer!

Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time. Marian Wright Edelman