Bridging the Gap between Animal Shelters and Human Services
Making A Difference Companion Animals Program
Our own Companion Animals Program assists Elderly and disabled people in Assisted Living Housing to be able to keep their loved companion pets by their side instead of being surrendered to an animal shelter and placed with a new family and new home.
You do not need to be experienced in volunteering, or in any specialty to be qualified or able to help the SPCA. We will teach you quickly and easily how to work in whatever area you choose.
At the SPCA, your time, professionalism, and expertise are truly appreciated. You may become as involved in this organization as you wish or you may keep to a set schedule of just 1 hour a week... It is all welcomed the same.
Quick Fact: Young people, students, who wish to pursue careers in an animal related field can benefit greatly from volunteering at a local animal shelter. As you begin to fill out resumes and applications to higher educational facilities, and even with prospective employers, a person who has already learned valuable skills by volunteering will be several steps higher on the ladder when it comes time for them to choose between you or someone else. Help us, and Help Yourself! A solid base to your education means faster promotions, more money, higher prestige, a better life. It all starts here. No matter which area of working with animals you may choose for your future, volunteering for just one summer in an animal shelter will help you reach the goals you are making for yourself. We guarantee it.
Volunteering is not just for young people! Anyone, any age can make a huge difference in the life of an abandoned pet in need of love and attention! Are you breathing? You qualify!
Yeah, Yeah... Why should I volunteer? Well, let's see, it gets you out of the house, whether that be to get away from the kids, or the spouse for awhile. It gives you something to do other than lay in front of the TV. It allows you to share in the joy of a dog or cat's eyes as they finally begin to see and learn that not every person they run across will be mean to them and that it is ok to trust in humans. It allows you to share in the happiness we all feel as we see a dog or cat be adopted to a new family and into a new home where they will be cared for and loved as they should have always been. Not yet? Ok, it looks good on your resume. It saves you money. It keeps you from eating that extra bag of potato chips. That makes you healthier. It makes you happier. It just might even make you taller! If for no other reason, it's a "karma thing". What goes around, comes around. You should always build up the best karma you can! You never know when you're going to need it...
So... Join in. Strut Your Stuff as a Lean, Mean, Volunteering Machine! You'll be glad you did.
At the SPCA, you can Volunteer as : Shelter & Adoptions Assistance
Socializers / Trainers - work with the dogs and cats to let them know it is ok to trust people again, that not all people are bad. The more people that can just spend a little time with each dog or cat, the easier it is for the animal to re-adjust and become ready and willing to go to a new home and family. Socializing includes some basic training for each of the dogs as well. Volunteers who wish to learn Basic Obedience Training Skills will work with our Training Director and learn how to use positive reinforcement techniques to teach sit, stay, heel, come, & down. This also helps assure that the new family or owner will be happy with his or her new Best Friend and that the dog will not wind up being brought back to us or worse, taken to another facility which may euthanize within a short time. Groomers - Our kennels are outdoors. Our dogs are always in need of a bath and a good brushing, and even if it were just for fun, they truly enjoy the attention. Volunteers do not actually cut coats.
Office Volunteers - work to help with incoming dogs and cats as well as adoptions, by interviewing and guiding the adoption process. These folks help to be sure each dog or cat is going to a new family and home where it will be cared for and loved like it deserves to be. Sometimes office volunteers would rather not actually have to come in contact with the dogs or cats as much as possible and that's ok. There is almost always someone here who can assist with handling which allows the office volunteer to concentrate on the needed paperwork, collecting payments, and such. Office Volunteers also answer the phone, set appointments, etc.
Drop Point Sponsors - Anyone can sponsor a Drop Point for the SPCA. You do not need to have a business. For businesses, we spiff it up a little by providing a nice looking Drop Box and donation jar, as well we advertise for the business every chance we get, however, private volunteers may also sponsor a Drop Point simply by allowing other people in the community to drop gifts of toys, treats, collars & leashes, or pretty much any type of non-cash donation at their home. The purpose behind Drop Points is to make it easier for the community to get their donations and gifts to us. It's a long way out to the facility if you're just dropping off a old blanket or a couple of toys. Local addresses close by make it convenient to donate. As the volunteer Drop Point needs to, they can call us and we will come in and pick up whatever has been left there for us. Promotion of all Drop Points are done by both us, and the volunteer. Volunteers are needed to host Drop Points in Mountain Home, Harrison, Lead Hill, Midway, Bull Shoals, Yellville, Flippin, Gassville, and West Plains.
Construction / Handyman - Do you like to work with your hands? There is almost always something to do here at the shelter from building and maintaining kennels to special projects like converting a donated school bus into a Mobile Response Unit which will be used to respond in times of a disaster in our area, as well as many Pet Fairs. Help is needed to construct handicap accessible areas for disabled individuals, especially those in wheel chairs. These areas will be used by volunteers, staff members, and program participants such as disabled veterans who live at the facility while training with their new Service Dogs.
Landscaping - Do you have a green thumb? We are in need of someone who can help to make the facility look the best it can.
Elderly and Shut-in Assistance - Volunteers help people in our Companion Animals Program by delivering pet food, and when necessary giving program participants a ride to our veterinarian in Bull Shoals.
Service Dogs in Training Fostering - People who volunteer in this area are very special people indeed. Not because of the area they have chosen to volunteer for, but in the amount of commitment it takes. Fostering Service Dogs in Training can be one of the most gratifying things anyone can do, but it's not for everybody. If you think you may interested in Fostering a Service Dog in Training, Click Here.
Feline Care Providers - These folks assist us in hoarder situations. We cannot always just walk in and remove every cat that is on the premises or in danger. Folks who volunteer in this service assist us by taking food to the owner and helping to see that all of the cats are fed properly. They are also trained by our own Feline Specialist and Executive Director, Jenny Nelson, in basic feline health. They check all of the cats being cared for as best they can for any diseases they may be present and possibly spreading throughout the population and inform us so that we can re-set our priorities when necessary. We know it sounds bad, but people who volunteer for this service must be prepared for the possibility of euthanasia.
Foster Homes for Interns Not often, but when it happens, we may get an Intern from out of state. This is usually a young person who is interested in learning Shelter Management and has enrolled in either our 1 or 2 year course. Very seldom do these Interns have an income or provided source of funds that will allow them to pay rent. Volunteers in this service provide a room in their home to our Interns, much the same as the Exchange Student program.
Fundraising & Special Event - Volunteers in these areas assist us by working in our mobile booth during Pet Fairs and at our Annual Special Events. They assist with providing people with information, and possibly in the adoption process for our available dogs and cats. Volunteers in this area must be able to spend quite some time at the shelter to learn our policies and procedures before going to work as a Fundraiser.
Employee Programs - You can start and maintain an "Employee Challenge" wherever you work! Check with your employer to be sure it is ok, then issue the challenge to each of your co-workers to give just $1 a month to help support the efforts of the SPCA. You collect the donations each month and turn them in to us.
Arts and Crafts Specialist - Volunteers in this area are making arts and crafts and donating them to the shelter to be used for fundraising, by selling them at Pet Fairs and Special Events or raffled. Any types of arts and crafts are accepted as long as they are family friendly. We will not display or sell any item that would not be appropriate for viewing by children. Pet related Arts & Crafts wanted!
Volunteer Program Coordinators - These are folks who are leaders, with time on their hands, and who want to get involved in creating change in the animal welfare community. We are looking for folks who can help with our Elderly program, Disaster Preparedness (Crisis Team) programs, ALL Canine Clubhouse areas. You do not need experience in being a coordinator, we will train the right people. All that is required is time to give and the desire to see changes in how things are done in our area and state when in comes to Pets and abused and abandoned animals.
Board of Directors - The SPCA is looking for qualified people to serve on our Board of Directors. These are people who care about pets and animals in the state of Arkansas and specifically in our local area. Board members need to have knowledge of, and an interest in, education and at least one area related to animal welfare. Board members are expected to be active in fundraising and program development and be able to make monthly Board Meetings. Please call the Corporate Office (870) 453 - 7249 if you feel you are someone who wants to be involved in the changing world of Arkansas' Animal Welfare Issues.
Disaster Relief & Crisis Teams - You can partner with the SPCA as a Crisis Team member. Crisis Team #1: includes people and families who can open their homes to a pet in need after a disaster. These folks foster a pet for the owner who has been wiped out by something like a Tornado, Flood, or other occurrence, until the owner can rebuild and be able to care for their pet again themselves. During the Gassville Tornado, these Team members were invaluable both to the SPCA and to the pet owners who needed someone to care for their pet temporarily. Crisis Team #2: is made up of people who either have, or have access to horse and stock trailers and who can help us move large livestock in case of an emergency. Crisis Team #3: consists of volunteers who help us in the field during a disaster response. These folks help with Feeding Stations, catching and transporting pets which are now running loose, as well as assist in the Mobile Response Unit with getting disaster victims signed up and into our various relief programs. The MRU operates 24/7 during the immediate response to a disaster so volunteers can pick their days and times. These Team members may also volunteer in the Shelter Office to man the phone and help us cover our normal daily business while we are needed elsewhere at a disaster scene.
A basic training in the SPCA operations is required for all volunteers specific to their area of assistance. We allow volunteers to get as involved in the shelter as they wish, or not. If they only wish to, for example, work once a week for an hour with the dogs and no more, that's fine too. These volunteers are just as needed and appreciated. As an example, however, Jenny began at the shelter as an Experience Works Trainee working 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, she is now the Executive Director and a Programs Developer for the organization and putting in many times over 60 hours a week.. A more extensive knowledge of the SPCA procedures is needed for volunteers who work as MBV's and Fundraisers. We will provide a complete information packet and ask that you set up a time when you can be at the facility for about 3 - 4 hours for a training session before volunteering for these positions. Also, any volunteer authorized to ask for and accept donations or gifts on behalf of the SPCA or those who may work in disaster response areas, must have an SPCA ID card which will be provided to you.
Although we try to keep normal business hours, the SPCA is basically open to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergency calls and services. This means that we are available to our volunteers at the same time. We understand that many people would help if they could do so without interfering with their own work schedules, and we can easily work around your schedule. We have both indoor and outdoor areas and can do pretty much anything at anytime. Fitting us into your schedule couldn't be easier.
To get involved or for more information, call the office at 453-7249.
