Ways to Volunteer

We are dedicated to helping animals in need in Shelburne County, serving as advocates for homeless, hungry, feral, lost and neglected dogs and cats. If you love animals, we can help you find a fulfilling way to be a part of this great cause! There are lots of different ways to get involved with the PET Projects team, and below we've included details about just a few; contact us for more information about any of these positions, or if you have other ideas, skills or abilities you'd like to bring to the table!

Volunteer Position: Animal Transportation
Time Commitment: As needed, and only when available
Tools/Skills Needed: A vehicle, regular access to email
Description: Sometimes a homeless, foster, or about-to-be-adopted animal will need to be transported from one location to another (for example, from Shelburne to Barrington, or from Woods Harbour to Halifax), and we are trying to create a network of volunteers that will be willing to lend a hand when they are already planning a trip in that direction. When transportation is needed, we will send out an email as far in advance as possible with the details, and then if you are available you can let us know. If not, you are under no obligation.
The Bottom Line: As a transportation volunteer, you will help the animals directly, and also serve as a great support to volunteers in other areas!

Volunteer Position: Pet Photographers
Time Commitment: Flexible, as needed/available
Tools/Skills Needed: Digital camera, access to transportation, high speed Internet
Description: Volunteers needed in Lockeport, CSI and other areas! These volunteers will visit foster homes and homes of private rescuers who do not have access to the Internet in order to take pictures of adoptable pets, and send them to PET Projects to be included on the website.
The Bottom Line: As a virtual shelter, pictures of our adoptables are incredibly important! By being a pet photographer, you could be directly responsible for a homeless pet finding a new forever-family!

Volunteer Position: Information/Ticket Table Worker
Time Commitment: A few hours at a time, as available
Tools/Skills Needed: Friendly and outgoing personality
Description: These volunteers will man a table to distribute organizational information and/or sell tickets for fundraising raffles or other contests, either as a part of a larger event or at locations like Sobeys or the mall.
The Bottom Line: These types of fundraisers are important for our organization. As an information/ticket table worker, you will give a friendly face to PET Projects, raise funds to help homeless animals, and give people an opportunity to learn about and support a great cause!

Volunteer Position: Event Coordinator
Time Commitment: Varies (Planning and implementation of single or annual event)
Tools/Skills Needed: Leadership and management skills, organized, self-motivated, regular Internet access an asset
Description: Using pre-prepared materials and timelines, these volunteers will plan, recruit volunteers, publicize, and carry out a single or annual event, such as a fundraiser, educational event or Adoption Fair. These volunteers will also update and add to the event documentation to be used in future events.
The Bottom Line: Big or small, PET events always serve several important purposes. As a coordinator of a PET event, you will help raise awareness of animal issues in our county, raise funds, find homes for homeless pets, and give animal-lovers in our area a chance to serve in a way that is challenging and fulfilling.

Volunteer Position: Event volunteer
Time Commitment: 1 event at a time, when available
Tools/Skills Needed: A great attitude, willingness to take direction and work as part of a team.
Description: Once or twice a quarter PET Projects will be holding a “big event”: a fundraiser, adoption fair, an educational event, or a combination. We would like to put together a list of people we can contact who are interested in helping out with these events, and who will be free to accept or decline based on their availability. Tasks will vary; you might be asked to greet people at the door, sit behind a ticket or refreshment table, clean out animal cages, assist potential adopters, or help with set-up/clean-up. But you will work under a great team of volunteer leaders who will give specific directions and allow you to work in an area that you are comfortable in, arranged ahead of time so you will know exactly when you are needed.
The Bottom Line: PET events help us to raise awareness and funds, and to find homes for homeless pets! As a volunteer at an event, you will be able to make a great impact as a part of a fun and dynamic team, without the responsibility of a long-term commitment.

Volunteer Position: Posters distribution team member
Time Commitment: Less than an hour, once a month
Tools/Skills Needed: Internet access, a colour printer
Description: About once a month, PET Projects will email our poster distribution team members with a link to our most updated posters. Team members will then print the posters and bring them to local public locations to be displayed; each team member will have 5-10 locations that they are responsible for.
The Bottom Line: A picture is worth a thousand words! Getting the faces of our adoptable pets out into our local communities is key to what we do on behalf of the animals, and you will play an important part in helping homeless pets find forever-families!

Volunteer Position: Facebook Group Admin
Time Commitment: 1 hour per week
Tools/Skills Needed: Internet access, knowledge of Facebook groups
Description: This volunteer will: update the PET Projects Facebook group weekly with pictures and descriptions of adoptable animals; create Facebook “Events” for PET Projects events; send emergency and informational messages to group members when requested by PET volunteers; find and use other Facebook tools that could benefit PET and the animals we serve.
The Bottom Line: Facebook is a wonderful tool to advertise homeless pets and educate the community about animal issues. Your efforts will help group members stay informed and encouraged to spread the word to their friends!

Volunteer Position: Outgoing Mail Coordinator
Time Commitment: Less than 1 hour per week, as needed
Tools/Skills Needed: Internet access, basic computer/Internet skills, computer, colour printer
Description: This volunteer will: receive requests for mailings (such as thank you notes, receipts, applications, information packets, and more) from other volunteers; customize mailings and address/stamp envelopes; send mailings; and record that mailings have been sent in an online spreadsheet. Training and all materials will be provided.
The Bottom Line: Because our volunteers are all over the county and beyond, it is important to have a centralized way to make sure that potential adopters, our supporters and people with animals in need are receiving print materials in a timely manner. Your efforts will help animals, community members, and our volunteers!

Volunteer Position: Phone Message Monitor
Time Commitment: Less than 1 hour per week
Tools/Skills Needed: Internet access, basic computer/Internet skills, an inclusive long-distance plan, comfort sending emails and talking on the phone
Description: Twice a week, this volunteer will: check the PET Projects phone message service (this can be done from their own home); record the messages in an online spreadsheet; return any general messages or get more information from callers using a detailed guide; and email the details of the messages to the correct PET Projects volunteer to be processed.
The Bottom Line: As a VIRTUAL shelter, much of what we do is online through our website. But we do want to make sure that those people without Internet access have the opportunity to access our services. As the phone message monitor, you will make sure people and pets find the help they need by connecting them with the volunteer who can best assist them.

Volunteer Position: Weekly pet ads (newspaper, radio, cable, Yahoo! Group, Kijiji)
Time Commitment: About 1 hour per week
Tools/Skills Needed: Computer, high speed internet access, a way with the written word (creativity combined with good spelling and grammar), and knowledge of working with digital images (copying, saving, resizing/cropping, and attaching images to email).
Description: Once a week, this volunteer will: choose adoptable pets to be featured; send an image and ad copy via separate emails to our contacts at the Coast Guard, radio station, Eastlink cable and CJLS website, changing the ad content slightly to accommodate the medium; record on an online spreadsheet which animal has been featured and when; send a weekly email to the Yahoo! Group to encourage people to visit the website and spread the word about our adoptable pets, using the featured pet as a part of this email; post a Kijiji ad to direct people to our website.
The Bottom Line: This is an easy way to make a BIG difference! By getting the word out about our adoptables, you are helping to not only find great new homes for homeless pets, but as that happens new spaces will open up in our foster homes for animals in immediate need!

Volunteer Position: PET Match Coordinator
Time Commitment: About a half-hour per week, when needed
Tools/Skills Needed: High speed internet, basic computer/internet skills, an inclusive long-distance plan, comfort customizing form emails and talking on the phone
Description: Potential adopters often contact us with a description of a pet they would like to adopt, but that we don’t presently have available. The PET Match Coordinator keeps the online spreadsheet up-to-date with the potential adopters’ information, checks for matches when a new animal comes into our care or is advertised through our website, and contacts potential adopters via phone or email when a match becomes available.
The Bottom Line: Our PET Match system finds homes for animals quickly, sometimes before they even enter our care! As a coordinator for this system, you will help people find the purrfect pets for them, and animals in desperate need find the happy endings they deserve!

Volunteer Position: Pet food/supply donations - distribution team member
Time Commitment: About 1 four hour block per month or quarter, when needed
Tools/Skills Needed: A truck, ability to lift and stack heavy boxes
Description: About once a month (or every few months), a large shipment of pet food and litter are delivered to a local business. A distribution team member is responsible for picking up part of the shipment to bring to one of two locations (Shelburne or Bear Point), and helping to unload it.

Volunteer Position: Pet food/supply donations - organization team member
Time Commitment: About 1 three hour block per month or quarter, when needed
Tools/Skills Needed: Organizational skills; willingness to get a little dirty for the cause!
Description: About once a month (or every few months), a large shipment of pet food and litter (see position description above) needs to be sorted and shelved or prepared for distribution, and often the packaging needs to be repaired or replaced.
The Bottom Line: These boxes of food and supplies help dozens of homeless and foster pets every month, and are also made available to pets whose owners are facing tough times. As a part of this team, you will be helping to make sure supplies get to where they are needed most!

Volunteer Position: Foster Parent (Regular or Emergency)
Time Commitment: When needed and available
Tools/Skills Needed: A love for animals; basic computer skills and internet access are an asset but not required
Description: Our adoptable pets are in loving foster homes instead of cages as we work to match them with forever-families. Foster families are given training, support, and medicines and supplies in order to care of cats or dogs in their home, with all veterinary expenses covered. Foster parents must simply be willing to love and care for an animal as though it was their own pet, until the time that it is adopted!
The Bottom Line: Foster parenting is an extremely rewarding way to directly help animals in need! Apply today!