Get Started Volunteering

You must be 18 years of age or older to volunteer directly with the animals.

For all positions that involve animal handling: It’s important that volunteers learn how to safely interact with shelter animals and that all volunteers use the same animal-handling techniques. Volunteers must be able to remember and follow instructions, work independently, and exercise good judgement. We also encourage all volunteers to be friendly towards fellow team members! We provide online orientation and in-person training, and we ask that new volunteers initially commit to a minimum of 3-hours per week (non-consecutively is fine), to help you become confident and comfortable handling animals.

Apply Online 

If you are subject to a court order to provide community service, we may be able to accommodate you. There is a separate application to see if you are eligible for Adult Diversion/Court Ordered Community Service. Please fill out our Adult Diversion application. You will hear from us after we have reviewed your information. Diversion volunteers will not attend the orientation programs. 

A Note about Large Group Volunteering:  Handling animals in an animal shelter is not the same as meeting pets in your neighbor's home or at the park.  Stringent protocols exist for the safety and well-being of staff/volunteers and the animal residents. For this reason, we do not have opportunities for volunteers to come as a group for a one-time volunteering event at the shelter. Groups are welcome to reach out to our Volunteer Coordinator at sarahc@cuhumane.org with any questions, or interest in supplying regular animal handling volunteers. If your group would like to host or volunteer at a donation drive or fundraising event for CCHS, contact our Event Coordinator, at elizabeth@cuhumane.org.

At least once a month, we hold open orientation sessions for anyone interested in information about the CCHS Volunteer Program. Orientation will be held on Zoom, to be as accessible as possible for potential volunteers. Check the calendar for upcoming dates, times, and links. You can filter by "Event Type" / "Volunteer Training" to view only upcoming volunteer events. Please reach out if you haven't been able to attend online volunteer orientations, but still want to help!

During the orientation you will learn about the mission and daily operations of CCHS. We'll share some of the many ways that volunteers help the organization so you can determine what type of volunteering best suits your skills and interests. We'll also review the physical demands of all the volunteer positions and discuss accommodations that might be possible. After we go over all the different opportunities, we hope you'll ask questions! Our staff is here to help.

At the end of orientation, you'll be ready for the next step to volunteering at CCHS: a shelter tour & training session for your volunteer position of choice.

After orientation, volunteers interested in animal care will join us onsite for a tour, and later a training session. The tour will familiarize you with the building and what we do every day. Then, training will teach you the task-specific information you need for the volunteer position you have committed to. Some volunteer positions, such as socialization, require multiple training sessions. You can learn more about the levels of volunteering on the opportunities page. On the tour, small groups of volunteers will see for themselves the work that goes into our animal care. We hope you're excited to learn:

• How we keep pets clean, and their environments hygienic
• Ways to mentally stimulate pets
• Standards for the humane treatment of animals
• Basic animal training skills, to use with our pets and yours
• Ways you, as a volunteer, are supporting pets and pet owners in this community

Once trained as an animal handler, please be prepared to commit to a minimum of 4 months of service with at least 3-hours per week of volunteer service.

Volunteers who are only interested in special events will not have an initial tour and orientation. When volunteering for special events, you will receive training and/or an outline of duties specific to that event and your position.

For those of you volunteering with the animals, joining us regularly is the best way to get comfortable with the health, safety, and training protocols for pets. If you aren't able to join us an animal handler, you can still give your time to specific projects and special events. We hope that once you become a CCHS volunteer, you’ll be with us for a very long time!

• Volunteers sign up for available shifts that work for them. Current volunteers can click here to access the schedule and pick your next shifts!
• As you get comfortable volunteering, you can speak with the volunteer coordinator, Sarah, about training for more advanced animal care, or with different types of pets.
• Volunteers will receive emails with any urgent or specific needs we might have for volunteers. Read through the info to see how you can stay engaged.
• Follow our volunteer page on Facebook to see some volunteer notices, and the cute pets you're helping!

Thank you for giving your time to pets in need!