Update September 1, 2020: Due to COVID-19, our regular new volunteer orientation and training is on hold until further notice. We do have a few volunteer opportunities listed below that you can help with during this time!
Current volunteer opportunities:
- Transport volunteers:
Transport volunteers play an essential role in helping to give our shelter animals a ride to our transfer partners, or to/from surgery appointments. Most transports are on an as-needed basis. On occasion we may have a need for transport on a regular (e.g. weekly) basis. Volunteers use their personal vehicle for these transports, and may transport cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, turtles, chickens, you name it! Transport volunteers must be at least 18 years old and have a valid driver’s license. - Help collect donations:
Do you have a favorite pet supply store where you shop? You can help by asking if they have any donations for our shelter! We accept unopened treats and food that are just about to expire, or expired within the last month. We go through A LOT of treats every day to keep our shelter animals happy! If you have found a business that would like to donate, please have them email us here to coordinate pick-up or drop-off. While we are in constant need of treats, we can also use many other pet supplies as listed here. - Developing online training:
Are you a professional eLearning designer looking to volunteer your expertise? We could use your help putting together short instructional videos and courses for our volunteers. Your work will have a huge impact in making our training process more efficient and effective. - Organizing supplies:
Enjoy organizing? We could use a professional organizer to help come up with a system to organize our supplies (everything from leashes, collars, treats, toys, etc.). Currently we use cubbies and storage bins which are labelled, however we could use help from someone with professional expertise to organize things into meaningful groups and put together an organized system which our volunteers and staff can easily follow. Once the system is in place, staff and current volunteers can help with the actual organizing of items.
If you can help with any of the opportunities listed above, please email volunteerprogram@oaklandca.gov. Note that at this time we are unable to host large groups of volunteers or youth volunteers under 18 yrs old. Thank you so much for your interest in volunteering!
