VOLUNTEER
VOLUNTEER
Interested in Volunteering?
Current Volunteers
Volgistics allows our current volunteers to sign up for shifts, check your schedule, and check your service history.
One-time or Individual Projects
Click here if you are interested in setting up a one-time volunteer event with a group (scouts, workplace, military, etc.), or you are organizing a project to help our shelter (like an Eagle Scout project).
Community Service Volunteer
We work with volunteers who need hours to fulfill court requirements on a case-by-case basis. Our community service volunteering program is set up separately from our regular volunteering program.
COVID-19 Update
The volunteer program is back open for our existing volunteers!
Please log into your Volgistics account to see what tasks are open and available.
There are still a few limitations to the program, due to the ongoing pandemic and our desire to keep everyone safe and healthy.
For additional questions about other essential tasks, email the Volunteer Coordinator.
In light of these unprecedented times, the two-shift-a-month minimum to remain active in the volunteer roster is currently on hold. No current volunteer will be rotated out of the system due to inactivity at this time.
Please keep yourselves safe and healthy, and know that our hearts are with you if you are choosing to self-quarantine. We will be here for you when the current crisis has passed and the volunteer program is back to normal.
Any further changes to the volunteer program for current volunteers will be announced via email. Please stay informed, and email the Volunteer Coordinator with any specific questions.
NEW VOLUNTEERS:
At this time, we are NOT accepting new volunteers into the program.
We have to use this hectic time to focus on animal care, adoptions, increased sanitation measures, and foster home coordination. We apologize that we do not currently have time to devote to orienting and training new volunteers.
We look forward to opening up our program to new volunteers again in the near future. Please check back on this page frequently.We will be opening up our volunteer program to new trainees as soon as we can.
With questions, email [email protected].
Volunteer Tasks Available:
Dog Walking
Dog walking is one of the most important–and fun–volunteer tasks in our shelter! We keep our dogs on a schedule so that they get three walks daily at minimum, plus backyard playtime.
There’s no better way for volunteers to get to know each and every dog at our shelter than by signing up for a dog walking shift. It’s a great way to get exercise for yourself, and to build relationships with our amazing dog residents, at the same time!
Cat Care
Cat care is a volunteer task that lets you help maintain our cat living areas, and get to know our awesome cats at the same time! Cat care involves scooping litter, sweeping up, and general cleaning inside the cat rooms… right beside the cats themselves, of course! Have fun scooping up cat litter while our bounciest residents are jumping on your back and asking for scratches, or screaming for treats!
Dog One-On-One Enrichment
Dog one-on-one enrichment gives you meaningful time with our dog residents as individuals. This is a great task to sign up for just to spend time with our dogs, lounging on the couches in their rooms, playing full-impact fetch in the backyard, or anything in between!
Each one-on-one enrichment shift means the world to our dog residents. Just having the undivided attention of a gentle, loving human shows them how much we care… and how dedicated we are to each and every one of them.
Cat Socialization
Looking to just spend some time with the internet’s most popular animal? Have we got the job for you!
Our cat socialization task is just that–signing up to spend time with all of our adoptable cats! At the Stafford SPCA, nobody lives in cages. Instead, all of our cats have free roam in their communal rooms, so all you need to do is come in and have a great time with them. Play with feather toys and lasers, give out tasty cat treats, or just sit on your favorite armchair and enjoy some quality time with one of our lap cats.
And yes, of course you can take pictures to share with your cat-obsessed friends on social media!
Photography
Pictures of our adoptable animals are so important. We need them to keep our online adoption profiles up to date, and to promote our adorable, adoptable critters!
We have both professional and amateur photographers come in to help us out at the shelter with pictures every day. Whatever your skill level, we can’t wait to see the shots you get!
Lawn Care
Want to help our rescue maintain our beautiful property? The Stafford SPCA sits on more than ten acres of idyllic land in the county. Along with those ten gorgeous acres comes with a lot of lawn and trail maintenance. We are always looking for good people to join our lawn care team. If you love riding lawnmowers, chainsaws, and leaf-raking, this is the job for you!
Community Events
Volunteer support is always needed out in the community, not just at the shelter!
The Stafford SPCA loves to get our animals out in the public eye at adoption interested events, and we need volunteers to help us transport and supervise animals at these events, and a lot of other places too!
We also need help out at our fundraising events in the community, spreading the word about the good work we do! If you’re a “people person,” we need you!
Angel Tree Donation Drive
Every holiday season, the Stafford SPCA is looking for volunteers who have the most holiday cheer! Our volunteers can help us during our Angel Tree drive by setting up and decorating Christmas trees, making hand-crafted ornaments, picking up holiday donations, and so much more!
If you’re ready to give back during the most wonderful time of the year, please join us during Angel Tree Season. Won’t YOU be an angel?
Volunteer FAQ
Why is there a minimum time requirement to volunteer?
As an animal shelter, there are a lot of moving parts and safety/health considerations. All of our policies are aimed at keeping our shelter animals happy, healthy, and adoptable. During volunteer training, you will learn all of our safety protocols.
We require two shifts per month at our shelter for each volunteer to ensure that all of our safety protocols remain fresh in your minds. Depending on what you would like to sign up for, these shifts range from 30 minutes to all day, so we can accommodate virtually any schedule!
If you are interested in volunteering in an aspect of our rescue that does not require the animal safety training (like laundry transport, outside event fundraising, or lawn care), we can be much more flexible about our minimum time requirement.
How does volunteer training work?
Animal safety and care is our number one priority, so all new volunteers must take volunteer training. This is completed in two stages: classroom orientation in a large group, and then hands-on training individually or in very small groups.
Classroom orientations are generally held on weekends. There are two orientations scheduled each month. You will receive details of the orientation schedule for the month and be able to choose which is best for your schedule after your application is submitted.
The classroom orientation will teach you the basics of the history and philosophy of our organization, a tour of the facility, and the highlights of our volunteer program and safety protocol. The hands-on training will take you step-by-step through our safety protocols so that you get hands-on experience with them while working with the animals.
How do I volunteer after training?
We use an online volunteer management software called Volgistics. Once you complete your training, we will email you all the information you need to log into your individual profile.
On Volgistics, you can sign yourself up for whatever shifts work for you—either at home on your computer, or on the go with your smart phone! You will be able to sign yourself up for volunteering shifts whenever your schedule best allows. It is an extremely flexible program once you’ve received your training, with opportunities seven days a week from 9 am to 10 pm.
The major requirement that we ask of all volunteers is that you’re sure to keep your commitments once you’ve signed up for shifts. We very much depend on our volunteers showing up when they have signed up. Signing up for shifts and then failing to show can cause animal care schedules to be pushed back and thrown off. Please take your volunteer commitments seriously!
What tasks do volunteers do at the Stafford SPCA?
Volunteers do a little bit of everything! Here are just some examples on the daily system:
- Dog walking
- Cat care (cleaning litter boxes, sweeping, etc.)
- Laundry folding
- Lawn care
- Dog one-on-one enrichment
- Office volunteering
- Photography
In addition to daily tasks, we need volunteers to help us with special events outside of the shelter like these:
- animal transport
- fundraising and donation drives
- Angel Tree donation drive
- community events
As we continue to grow and thrive, we look forward to our volunteer program growing with us!
Do you accept court-ordered volunteers?
We accept volunteers who need to accumulate hours for presentation to a court, lawyer, parole board, etc. on a case-by-case basis. This program is separate from our regular volunteer program. We do not send letters to the court, to lawyers, to officers of the law, etc., for any volunteer hours performed outside of our established community service program.
Please call our offices at 540-242-0608 for more information on this program, and read all about our community service program here.
What are the age requirements for volunteers?
All shelter volunteers must be at least 13 years old in order to work with our cats, and at least 16 years old to work with our dogs.
All volunteers between the ages of 13-16 must have a parent/guardian accompanying them at the shelter at all times while volunteering. Volunteers age 16 and up may volunteer at the shelter without parental supervision.
Additionally, we cannot allow volunteers of any age to be dropped off at our shelter without reliable transportation on grounds. This is a point of liability and safety since we have a very small staff. Regardless of age, all volunteers must have transportation on shelter property for the entirety of the time you volunteer, each and every time.
What about group volunteering events?
We can accommodate groups of various sizes for one-time volunteering events. Usually these volunteer service days involve yard work, building maintenance, or big outdoor projects, with an opportunity to socialize and play with our animals as well!
In order to get details and set up an event, please email [email protected] to find out what opportunities are currently available for groups.
I have already volunteered at another shelter in the past. Do I have to receive training to volunteer again?
Most animal rescues are set up independently of each other and have different policies. In order to learn our policies and safety guidelines, you’ll need to take our specific orientation and hands-on training class. This is all with the health and safety of our animals and our volunteers in mind!
With questions, email [email protected].