Ways you can help by volunteering at CHA Animal Shelter…
CHA Animal Shelter is a volunteer-run, nonprofit animal shelter dedicated to finding homes for cats and dogs in need with responsible individuals. We rely on over 400 volunteers for their talent and the generosity of their time to accomplish this goal.
To become a CHA volunteer:
- Volunteers must be at least 14 years old to work in the shelter.
- Volunteers aged 14-15 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who is also a volunteer.
- Volunteers who are 16 & 17 years of age may volunteer independently with the signed consent of a parent or guardian.
- Adult volunteers are requested not to bring their young or non-volunteering children to the shelter while they are working.
- CHA does not honor court-mandated volunteering.
Volunteers are assigned to scheduled shifts. Shifts are 2-3 hours in length and volunteers meet weekly or bi-weekly, depending on the shift they are assigned.
Because our volunteers are essential to providing daily care for our animals, we ask for a minimum commitment of 6 months once onboarding is complete.
Our onboarding process for animal caretakers includes:
- In-person orientation (2 hours)
- Virtual training (approximately 2 hours; self-paced)
- In-person introductory training (2 hours)
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In-person species-specific training (2 hours)
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In-person shadow experience (minimum of 2 hours)
In-person orientation and training sessions are held on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 PM. Our in-person sessions are held consecutively on Wednesday evenings, and volunteers must be able to attend all three sessions in the same month.
Our Community Engagement Manager reviews all applications as they come in. You will be contacted only if your availability aligns with our current needs. If your availability does not align with our current needs, we will keep your application on file and contact you if a shift becomes available that matches your listed availability. As a smaller shelter, space is limited in our onboarding sessions; therefore, we schedule new volunteers on an as-needed basis.
Examples of volunteer opportunities at CHA Animal Shelter are:
In-shelter work
- Care for and socialize with the animals
o Volunteer Job Description – Cat Care Taker
o Volunteer Job Description – Dog Care Taker
- Assist with maintenance and upkeep of the shelter
- Assist potential adopters with meeting the adoptable animals
Additional volunteer positions needed are:
- Greeter during adoption hours
- Cleaner of carriers on surgery days
Fostering
The Foster program is open to all in-shelter CHA volunteers who have attended a volunteer orientation and training or to those who have participated in a foster orientation. Foster orientations will only take place on the fifth Wednesday of the month and spots are limited. Fill out a foster application HERE.
Administrative
- Perform adoption follow-ups
- Filing and paperwork
- Data entry for animal records into PetPoint
- Help with special events at the shelter
Fundraising
- Plan and participate in fundraising functions
- Contact businesses for donations of items or services
- Spread the word to the public about our fundraising events!
- Click HERE for our fundraising tips and toolkit