|
Volunteer Overview
> Why
> How
> Who
Who
can volunteer for PAWS?
Do
I need any special skills?
What
about children and young adults?
What
if I don’t live in San Francisco?
> When
When
can I volunteer for PAWS?
Do
I need to commit to a long time in order to volunteer?
> What
Food
Bank
Outreach
Animal
Care:
Dog
Walking and Cat Care
Foster
Care
Adoption
Annual
Fundraising Events:
Petchitecture
Office
- - - - - - - - - - -
WHY
PAWS is a volunteer-based organization. Volunteers are the
heart, brain, and muscle of PAWS. The time and effort volunteers invest
helps hundreds of clients stay with their beloved animal companions. And
it's a great way to connect with fellow pooch and feline fans... Come
join us!
- - - - - - - - - - -
HOW
If you would like to become a volunteer, please download
and fill
out this application. If you would prefer that we mail you an application,
please call Daniel Marlay, the Director of Volunteer Services at 415-979-9550
or send
him an e-mail.
Once we have your application, we will set up a time to
have a brief interview on the phone or in person to discuss volunteering
at PAWS - the expectations, what you want from your volunteer experience,
the challenges of volunteering, and the way volunteering with PAWS works.
After the interview, if all goes well, we will invite you
to a comprehensive training that prepares volunteers for working with
clients.
If you have questions about becoming a volunteer, or
questions about what volunteering entails, please
contact Daniel.
- - - - - - - - - - -
WHO
Do I need any special skills?
We have needs for people of all different skill levels and interests.
We will do our best to match you up with volunteer opportunities you will
enjoy.
What about children and young adults?
For most of our volunteer opportunities, especially those requiring direct
client support, such as food delivery, dog walking and cat care, you must
be at least 18 unless accompanied by an adult, who is a registered PAWS
volunteer at all times.
What can a student do for a few community
service hours for school?
Throughout the school year, we often have teenagers who need a certain
number of community service hours for their school. One of our best opportunities
is for a student to do a food drive for canned food. This can be done
in a manner and location that the student wants to organize, or we can
arrange for someone to do a food drive at a local pet store or grocery
store.
Do you have opportunities for large
groups of students, or corporate volunteers for one-day projects?
Once every six weeks to two months, we get a shipment of pet food
in from the damaged goods at Safeway. It takes a crew of about 5-10 people
to help unload the truck sort out the goods, tape torn bags, and restock
the Food Bank. This generally lasts from about 2pm-4:30pm on a Thursday
afternoon. For upcoming dates, please contact Daniel Marlay at 415-979-9550
x305.
What if I don’t live in San Francisco?
Many PAWS volunteers live in the East Bay, South Bay and Marin County.
These volunteers travel into the city when they can to help out with fundraising
events, food bank volunteering outreach and office help. We generally
try to arrange dog walking and cat care in such a way that volunteers
help a specific client who either lives near them, or near where they
work. Given that all PAWS clients live inside San Francisco, we generally
find it difficult for volunteers who live outside the city to make a once-per-week
commitment to being in San Francisco, though it is not impossible.
- - - - - - - - - - -
WHEN
When can I volunteer for PAWS?
We need help at a variety of different times. PAWS volunteers have all
different kinds of schedules and availability.
Dog-walking can be arranged around the schedules of the volunteers
and the clients. Many volunteers walk dogs in the evening, just after
work.
Food Bank volunteering is done entirely on Saturdays from 10am-12:30pm.
Outreach volunteers are generally needed for helping to set up
information tables on Saturdays or Sundays, though sometimes in the evenings,
or during the workday.
Animal Transport volunteers generally transport animals during
the workday.
Do I need to commit to a long time
in order to volunteer?
Generally, the minimum commitment for volunteering at PAWS is six months.
If you would like something shorter-term, please contact the PAWS office
to discuss a shorter-time assignment.
- - - - - - - - - - -
WHAT
What exactly do PAWS volunteers do?
There are many different types of volunteer opportunities. For a full
list of opportunities see the Volunteer
Job Descriptions. Also, see our Volunteer
Now section for current volunteer opportunities.
Food Bank
Each week we distribute pet food, leashes, cat litter, toys and other
supplies to our clients. The Food Bank, located at the PAWS office, is
open from 10:30am-12:30pm every Saturday morning. Help onsite as clients
pick up their pet supplies or help as a rider or driver making deliveries
to clients who are homebound.
Outreach
Help spread the word about PAWS! From distributing flyers about upcoming
events to staffing a PAWS booth and selling merchandise, from beer busts
to dog shows to street fairs, PAWS outreach is one of the most important
volunteer opportunities we have at PAWS—and one of the most fun,
too!
Animal Care:
Dog walking and Cat Care: Volunteers
on animal care teams help to clean cat pans and walk dogs for those
in need. We ask that volunteers only take on pets in their neighborhood.
Dog walking volunteers usually walk a dog one to three times per week
on a team of scheduled volunteers. After trying the walking position
one or two times we ask for a six month commitment.
Foster Care: Our clients are often sick and
need hospital care. During these times we help by providing foster care
and adoption services for their pets. We are constantly in need of volunteers
with pet-friendly apartments or homes to assist in fostering pets. For
a listing of pets available for foster care and adoption, please see
our Foster/Adopt
a Pet section.
Adoption: WE ARE NOT AN ADOPTION SERVICE,
however under the emergency circumstance of a client passing away or
permanently going into hospice that prohibits animals, we offer adoption
as a service. For a listing of pets available for foster care and adoption,
please see our Foster/Adopt
a Pet section.
Annual Fundraising Events
PAWS has several fundraising events throughout the year. Volunteers help
run all of these events. Our biggest is:
Petchitecture: (in the Spring)
PAWS’ signature and largest event of the year. Local architects
and designers gather to create fabulous pets habitats that are auctioned
off at this event, which also includes cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and
a large silent auction. Volunteers help with ticket sales, doggie play
area, waiting tables and in many other capacities during and prior to
the event.
Office
We are always in need of office volunteers. Volunteers help in the office
with reception, making phone calls, data entry, mailings and just about
everything else under the sun. The PAWS office is open weekdays 10am till
6pm. For current office volunteer openings, see the Volunteer Job Descriptions
page.
|
