Volunteer

Volunteers are vital to the lively-hood of our Shelter. They allow us to stretch our resources, expand our programs, and help us to save more lives. The Volunteering of your time and energy to the Humane Society of Central Washington can be both rewarding and spiritually full-filling; not to mention extremely helpful to the shelter staff and the animals we serve.

Donate Time At The Shelter

There are numerous ways that you can help at the Shelter. You can:

Meet and Greet - assist customers in viewing the animals, answering questions, giving directions, and getting dogs out for our Dog Walking Program.
Animal Care - assist the staff in feeding, watering, grooming, training, and socializing the animals. Assist the staff with cleaning & sterilizing kennels, condos, carriers, dishes, and laundry. Volunteers can also assist with processing new arrivals with vaccinations, general health exam, and settling the animal into his/her kennel.
Clerical Support - assist with data entry, filing, answering phones, copying, adoption call-backs, mailings, assisting Adoption Counselor with adoptions, and Front Desk staff with new arrivals.
Photography & Internet - assist staff with photographing animals, temperament testing, and writing descriptions of adoptable pets.
Lost Pet Escort - assist customers in looking for their lost pet by escorting them through the stray and isolation areas of the shelter.
Humane Education - assist the Humane Education Coordinator in creating displays, curriculum, and staffing educational booths at many events throughout the local area.
Grounds Maintenance - assist with keeping the Shelter and its yard presentable and in good condition.

Become A Foster Family

You can volunteer to become a foster family, which in-turn helps us to help more animals. A foster home should be able to provide a safe, warm environment with lots of human contact for animals with special short-term needs. Often this will consist of young or ill puppies or kittens, or for older, injured or pregnant dogs and cats. Animals may need to stay in foster situations from one day to six weeks depending on individual needs. All the animals in your home should be fully immunized and socialized. Foster animals must be returned to the shelter for adoption at the time determined by the shelter staff. To learn more about our Foster Program please visit our Foster Family page.

Luv-A-Pet Center At PetSmart

Volunteers trained in animal care and adoption counseling assist in getting our dogs transported to PetSmart, settled in their cages, answer patron's questions, and help with the adoption procedure. Every Saturday the Society's adoptable dogs are taken to PetSmart for added exposure, our adoptable cats are transported to PetSmart's Luv-A-Pet Center and remain there until adopted. At the end of the day all the dogs and supplies are returned to the Shelter.

Off-site Adoptions And Transfers

Off-site adoptions will be held at various locations in the community and on the west side of the mountains. Volunteers are needed to transport the animals and appropriate paperwork to the site and then afterwards return the animals to the Shelter. The usual time commitment for this activity is from two to four hours for local events and seven to nine hours for events that take place on the west side.

Adoption follow-up is needed to provide the appropriate closure for the adopters and to helps to monitor the public's response to the Humane Society's services and programs.

Transporting consists of picking up or delivering donations of pet food or supplies, transporting of pets to and from veterinary appointments or to the Vet Tech program at YVCC, transporting designated animals to various Shelters or Rescue Groups around the state, or distributing flyers, brochures or other Humane Society information to local businesses or media outlets.

Community Outreach

Help us to spread the word about Responsible Pet Ownership and the Programs we have available for the community. Community outreach may include meeting with the public and distributing information at various Humane Society activities and events. These events include the Shelter's annual fundraising programs, such as Santa Pet Portraits; the annual "See Spot Run" walk/run with your dog; Wine & Art Fundraiser; and the fall "See Spot Party" fundraiser. Volunteers may seek community support for the Shelter or become involved with various committees or educational programs. These activities may include classroom presentations regarding responsible pet care, Spay and Neutering and the lifetime commitment to Responsible Pet Ownership. Educators may take their own companion animals to the presentations if they are obedience trained and are current on all vaccinations including Rabies.

Opportunities For Senior Projects And Community Service Hours

In an effort to assist area students complete their requirements for senior projects and community service hours, the Humane Society of Central Washington is creating a Youth Group. the goal of this group will be to get parents and children involved in humane projects and fundraising. We will also offer opportunities for students to help with day to day tasks in the shelter.

We are looking for parents to help supervise this project and are asking interested parents, and students to complete a Volunteer Application with the shelter. At this time, we do have a limited number of available spaces open to students for group activities; however we also have a need for students who may just want to spend time in the shelter to learn about the Humane Society and be able to complete their community service hours.

Students ages 14-16 need to be with an adult 18 or over. Students 16-18 may volunteer at the shelter with a parent/guardian('s) permission.

For more information on the Youth Projects available please click here.

Becoming a Volunteer

All people wishing to volunteer at the Humane Society of Central Washington must complete a Volunteer Application. Upon approval of your Volunteer Application you will be required to attend a Volunteer Orientation. You will be notified via email or a phone call by our Volunteer Coordinator.

You must be at least 12 years of age to volunteer at the Humane Society of Central Washington.
All Volunteers under the age of 16 years must be accompanied by an adult at all times while volunteering at the shelter.
All Volunteers under the age of 18 years must have parent's permission to volunteer at the shelter.
Volunteers in High School may use volunteer hours towards graduation requirements.

Adult Volunteers wishing to participate in the Humane Society of Central Washington/YMCA Mentor Program must complete both the Humane Society of Central Washington's and the YMCA's Volunteer Application. For further details on the Mentor Program please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Elaine Williams, at outreach@yakimahumane.org.