All
volunteers who are going to work at the shelter must attend
an orientation, sign a release and have an interview with
the Shelter Manager before job placement. The purpose of
the interview is to discuss needs, talents, and time availability
and to then find the appropriate job to fulfill those requirements.
Adult Volunteers are individuals 18 and older. Junior Volunteers
will be accepted at 14 years of age. Performance will be
monitored and tasks assigned according to level of maturity
and skills.
Dog
Walking
Each adoptable dog needs some outdoor exercise.
The shelter staff does not the time to walk each
animal as much as they would like. Volunteer help
is definitely needed and welcomed. Even an hour
a week would be helpful.
Animal
Socialization
Animals that are kenneled all day need help so that
they can learn again to get along with people and
with other animals. Taking two dogs into the play
yard and giving them a supervised opportunity to
romp and play with each other and their human is
something these animals need. A real opportunity
to have fun through the helping hand of a volunteer
can do so much to make an animal happy again.
Basic
Dog Training
Any adult animal is easier to place when the animal
shows some very basic obedience skills, like sit,
stay, and come. Working with a single dog over a
period of a few days can make the difference in
its' opportunity for adoption.
Animal
Analysis
Animals react differently to many situations. Some
animals are terrified of kennels. Others may have
been treated poorly by their past owners. Some are
just shy and timid while their neighbor appears
to be loud and unruly. With the aid of volunteers,
each animal can be given a chance to express it's
own personality when studied for a few hours. The
results can be written on their kennel cards so
potential new owners can get some added insight
into the animals temperment and personality.
Love
and Caring
All dogs and cats love to be loved. Just spending
some time with them, petting them, holding them,
talking to them means a lot to an animal that has
been alone and scared for some time. They will repay
your efforts with a thousands licks and purrs.
Fundraising
As the human population increases in Camden County,
so does the animal population. And as the animal
population increases so does the homeless animal
population and therefore the needs of the HSCC.
The contracts with the County and Kingsland provides
only for the care of the animals which are brought
to us for 5 days. Beyond that time, it is fundraising
monies that provides for the shelter and care
of the animals that are awaiting adoption. It
is through fundraising that we hope to build a
new intake building to isolate contagious and
quarantined animals and to develop an effective
spay/neuter program. It was through writing for
grants which allowed us to be able to raise sufficient
funds to begin this web page, as well as through
the generosity of the web site designer, D.S.
Design. In order to be able to continue this
activity, we solicit the help of volunteers. It
takes a special person to be able to humble themselves
to actually beg for the necessary funding for
these activities. But they need only keep in mind
the thousands of homeless and hungry animals,
and the look in the eye of that dog who licks
your hand as you pass through the shelter.
Furry
Ladies
We started a group of volunteers called the "Furry
Ladies." This is a group of local women we
can call upon to assist us in our various fundraising
activities. When we have a special event planned,
we first ask this group for help.
Board
Member
We are always looking for new Board members. The
Board provides for the majority of support for
the HSCC in various ways. Through committees,
shelter help, fundraising, local contacts, and
by their specific area of expertise, the board
members keep the HSCC going and growing. We have
nurses, Veterinarians, retired corporate Vice
Presidents, CPAs, individuals with varied education
and business experiences all of which make us
a better and more functional organization. All
it takes is a willingness and some time.
Education
Assistant
We have an education committee that will provide
programs for all ages. Schools, after school programs,
Scouts, Nursing Homes, are just a few of the organizations
that ask us to provide some education and assistance
to their constituents. In order to provide such
educational programs and to increase what we can
offer, we need volunteers who are willing to give
up a few hours a month to go fulfill these requests.
We desperately need people who can help develop
new programs, people who are retired teachers
who are used to delivering a message, people who
can help with this Web page maintenance, people
who can help spread the work about the need for
vaccinations and spay/neuter.
Who
to contact to Volunteer:
Our
Volunteer Coordinator for fundraising activities is Candy Barrie. She may be contacted by phone
at 673-1252 or by e-mail at cbarrie@bigplanet.com.
You may also pick up a volunteer form at the HSCC
shelter. If you are interested in volunteering at the shelter, stop by and see the manager. You will have to complete an application before starting.
