Volunteers are a vital part of our organization. With their help, we can meet our mission: “To improve the lives of animals, alleviate their suffering, and elevate their status in the community.” You can be a part of this mission and join a team of compassionate animal lovers. What does it take?
First, there are a few questions you really need to ask yourself:
Do I enjoy interacting with people?
Am I ready to make a firm commitment to the animals today and give my time?
Am I at least 16 years old?
Am I ready to roll up my sleeves and jump in?
If you answered YES to all of the above then you are ready to attend a volunteer orientation.
Click here to download our Volunteer Application and Waiver.
Complete the forms and call the shelter at 706-282-3275 and set up a time for a Volunteer Orientation
Children aged 6 – 15 can volunteer if a parent or guardian is with them. Both individuals must attend orientation before they can start volunteering.
Community, corporate and youth groups volunteer opportunities are also available please e-mail volunteer@tschs.org
Once we receive your volunteer application we will contact you and let you know when the next orientation is scheduled. Orientation generally lasts one hour and then you start volunteering immediately or set a time and day you can start volunteering. We ask volunteers to commit to volunteering for six hours a month for six months to obtain the necessary training to keep you and the animals safe.
We have a wide variety of volunteer positions that include:
Feeding and cleaning
Walking dogs
Socializing dogs and cats
Trimming nails
Bathing and grooming dogs
Washing towels & cleaning bowls
Customer service
Answering phones
Helping with Adoptions
Updating animal cage cards
Adoption processing
Updating animal records
Assisting at special events
Presenting education programs
Transporting animals
Handyman
Painting
Landscaping
Another way you can volunteer is to become a Foster Home. Fostering is simply nurturing a shelter pet in your home for a period of time. Fostering is usually for two weeks, but can be longer. The majority of animals fostered are litters of kittens and puppies. Kittens and puppies come to the shelter as strays or abandoned and are too young and fragile to be made available for adoption. They need the security of their littermates, they need special care, and they need to learn important lessons from each other. That’s where you come in. Just like kids, kittens and puppies learn to get along with each other by playing. They learn limits, they learn tolerance and they learn not to hurt each other. Fostered litters also learn about the home environment – other cats, dogs and kids. When they return for adoption, they are socialized and seek attention from adopters, making them highly adoptable and quick to find a home. Other animals that may need fostering are animals recovering from surgery, or those for some reason need time in a home before being adopted.
If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, click here to download our Volunteer Application and plan on attending one of our volunteer orientations, where you will learn about our foster program or email us volunteer@tschs.org