IMPORTANT INFORMATION!
- SAHS Volunteering & Covid-19
- Volunteer Capabilities Overview
- Volunteer Handbook
A Message from the Volunteer Coordinator
Thank you for your interest in the San Antonio Humane Society (SAHS) Volunteer Program! We understand your time is valuable and we appreciate that you’re thinking about spending some of it with us! Volunteers are vital in helping us continue our mission to improve the lives of dogs and cats in our community by providing shelter, care, adoption, rescue, spay/neuter programs, and community education.
Due to Covid-19, the SAHS Volunteer program has been put on hold since March of 2020. Perhaps one small positive to come out of this temporary pause is that we finally had the time to do a thorough evaluation and reconstruction of our volunteer program. We were able to evaluate the needs of the staff as well as the pets in our care and create what we hope is a program that will truly prioritize the needs of the SAHS staff and pets while still being fun and rewarding for our volunteers. One big change you'll notice is that we have moved away from the drop-in anytime style program to a structured program with specific shifts and tasks for each volunteer team. We hope this change helps provide our staff and pets with more consistent volunteer assistance.
As we begin 2021, we are excited to start slowly opening our program and recruiting volunteers again! Please visit SAhumane.givepulse.com for more information about our program and to apply for open positions.
Sarah Rihn, Volunteer Coordinator
Email: volunteer@SAhumane.org
Volunteer Teams:
Adoption Team:
Adoption Team Volunteers provide direct support to our Adoption Staff by helping with general administrative tasks like answering and returning phone calls, responding to emails, greeting guests, and scanning or filing paperwork. Volunteers can also assist the Adoption Staff at adoption events on and off-campus. Volunteers can even train to become Volunteer Adoption Counselors.
Animal Behavior & Enrichment Team:
Animal Behavior Team volunteers get the opportunity to work directly with our pets and our Animal Behavior Evaluator/Trainer. Volunteers will help ensure daily animal enrichment is provided to all pets in the form of daily walks, socialization, playgroups, and enrichment treats/activities.
Animal Care Team:
Animal Care Team Volunteers assist the Animal Care staff with the daily care, cleaning, and feeding, of our shelter pets. Don’t worry, volunteers also get to spend some quality time with the pets once the cleaning is done!
Animal Health Team:
Volunteers in the Animal Health Team help our Medical Staff with the daily care, cleaning, and feeding of pets that are not yet ready for adoption. These could be pets that have just come into the shelter or pets that are receiving medical care for illnesses or injuries. Volunteers can also assist the staff with general administrative duties like scanning and filing paperwork or data entry. If you are interested in earning hours and gaining experience to use on an application to a veterinary technology program, like the Palo Alto Vet Tech Program, this is the team to join!
Community Outreach Team:
Community Outreach Volunteers work directly with the Volunteer Coordinator to engage the community. Volunteers can learn how to set up and manage information booths, Volunteer for a Day programs, campus tours, and assist with general administrative tasks.
Development & Donor Relations Team:
Development & Donor Relations volunteers work directly with our Development & Donor Relations staff to ensure all of our donors receive the personalized thanks they deserve. Volunteers help our staff make thank you calls and help us fold, stamp, and mail thank you letters to our donors. Volunteers also help the staff at special events like our annual Friends for Life Luncheon!
Humane Education Team:
Education is an essential part of our mission at the SAHS. Education Team volunteers will work side by side with our Certified Humane Education Specialists by assisting with Camp Humane, the Tales for Tails reading program, and helping lead campus tours.
Public Relations Team:
Breaking Mews! Our Public Relations Team needs support with media appearances, paparazzi (photography/videography), and graphic design. Help our pets look purr-ty through our dif-fur-ent creative outlets with PR!
Our volunteer program is sponsored by Mr. W Fireworks.
