The work of the Richmond SPCA is a team effort in every sense of the word. And nowhere is this team effort more central to our mission than in our volunteer department.
The lifesaving work we do at the Richmond SPCA wouldn’t be possible without the help of our indispensable volunteers. The addition of extra helping hands and hearts are integral to every part of our daily operation. We are very fortunate to have such a large and dedicated group of volunteers – more than 900 so far this fiscal year – that donate their time and talents on behalf of our many homeless pets.
Our team is as diverse as the orphaned pets they help. Our volunteers include families that volunteer together, middle school aged volunteers that assist in our Animal Brigade service program, high school aged volunteers that spend their spring break and summer vacations lending a helping hand, young adults that give dogs exercise by being their Running Buddies in the evenings after work, retired volunteers that visit with cats and help with laundry, and countless others. But they also have this in common: the work of our volunteers improves the quality of the life for the dogs and cats in our care.
The wide range of volunteer jobs available let our volunteers use their varied skills to express their compassion for homeless animals in different ways. Dog walking and helping in the Clinic for Compassionate Care are some of our most popular volunteer jobs. Volunteers also perform data entry and dress up as Waggles for birthday parties and events. They sew blankets and bedding to comfort pets awaiting adoption. We also have volunteers whose time is spent outside our humane center, visiting residents in nursing homes and retirement communities through Paws for Health. Cleaning, clerical work, socializing animals, training dogs, offsite adoption events and photography are just a few of the other volunteer opportunities we offer.
Every day we are moved by the dedication, compassion, and care our volunteers show through their work. Volunteers are vital to our day to day operations and our long term success as an organization. During this week of national volunteer appreciation, we would like to offer a heartfelt thank you to you all.
If you are interested in becoming a new volunteer, please visit www.richmondspca.org/volunteer
Timothy Joyner is the manager of volunteers and programs and Eric Steigleder is the coordinator of community relations here at the Richmond SPCA. To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.
Our volunteers are the BEST! We can never thank them enough for their dedication to the organization and their devotion to the homeless animals.
Posted by: Kyla Finck | April 17, 2012 at 05:14 PM
I echo the post by Kyla Finck. Our volunteers are truly outstanding in every way, and we are deeply grateful to them for their dedicated support of the Richmond SPCA and the thousands of homeless pets that need them. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness!
Posted by: Tamsen Kingry | April 18, 2012 at 10:41 AM