WHY VOLUNTEER?

Each year, hundreds of volunteers with a wide variety of backgrounds, donate more than 30,000 hours of service. They give hands-on care to animals, help us raise much-needed funds, educate our community, assist our staff at the shelter, provide support, and more. SFAHS volunteers contributing to improving the lives of our rescued animals while working alongside others who desire to create a better future for all animals.

QUALIFICATIONS

Volunteers must be able to commit to at least 6 months of service.

Volunteers must commit to a minimum of 4 hours per month.

Must be 16+ years old to volunteer independently.
- Ages 12-15 must apply for Junior Volunteering with a guardian.

Required to complete Information session, Hands-on Training, and the Introduction To Enrichment Classes.

We do not offer court-ordered or diversion program volunteering, due to liability conflicts. This includes any volunteering that has been ordered, recommended, or required by a parole officer, judge, teen court, lawyer, halfway housing, juvenile detention center, etc

GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

Volunteers make their own schedule. Volunteers are responsible for making sure they complete their monthly hours.

Volunteers are expected to provide enrichment for the animals lives. We do training, play games, and provide fun to enrich and make the shelter less scary.

Most volunteer roles r
equire volunteers to lift and carry a minimum of 10 pounds up to 100 Pounds depending on your role, reach and lift, possess vision abilities including close vision, distance vision, and depth perception

HOW DO YOU BECOME A VOLUNTEER?

1. INFORMATIONAL SESSION. This group class will include a tour and overview of the general expectations of being a SFAHS volunteer, to make sure that volunteering is the right fit for you! You can expect this informational session to last about 1 hour and is open for anyone to join! Sessions will be posted below and announced on our Facebook page. No need to RSVP, You just have to show up! After the Information Session you will be given access to our volunteer application. Please make sure volunteering works with your lifestyle before applying. Completing an Information Session does not make you a registered volunteer.

Upcoming Information Session

October 26th at 4:00 pm

2. APPLICATION. Volunteer applications are submitted online and must be filled out thoughtfully and in its entirety to be considered. You will be sent an online application after you have attended an Information Session. Due to the high volume of applications we get, not all applications will be accepted. Please allow 4-7 business days for approval. If you are approved, you will be contacted via email to set up a time to do training . We receive many applications each day and will process as quickly as we can. If you have not heard back about your application after 10 days , please reach out.

3. TRAINING You must complete hands-on training, and basic enrichment to be considered a registered volunteer. Hands-on training will include information and demonstrations on animal handling and safety guidelines. Basic Enrichment ( Green Level 1) covers games and enrichment activities you can do with the animals. Each training session lasts approximately 1.5 hours.

SFAHS has different enrichment classes meant to help reduce stress, train, and help with handling. Volunteers will be able to sign up for various classes to earn Badges. These Badges allow volunteers to handle different levels of animals. There will always be opportunities to learn new games and handling techniques.

Green Level Volunteer- Level 1 &2

These volunteers have completed:

Hands-On Training
Introduction to Enrichment Class.

Level 1 is the most basic level. This is completed after Hands- on Training and the Introduction to Enrichment Class.

Required for volunteers wanting to interact with any Pets. Each Pet type has their own topics.

Level 2: Not required. This is for those volunteers that want to do advanced training.

Orange level Volunteers:

These volunteers have completed:

All of Green Level training
At least 8 hours volunteering in the "green level"

Have completed multiple classes in Orange level enrichment

These volunteers are now able to walk our harder-to-handle dogs or do enrichment training with cats.

Blue Level Volunteers:

These volunteers have completed:

At least 24 hours in volunteering in the "Orange Level"
Have Shadowed the Front Office staff, Kennel Staff, and tour guides
Have completed Multiple Advanced Classes in Enrichment and Training

These volunteers are ambassadors for the shelter.

Dog volunteers allowed to take animals to off-site events, Help with Dog Training programs, Dog introductions, Behavior modification programs and more!

Cat Volunteers are allowed to help with matchmaking, and assisting Front office with Adopters!

4. VOLUNTEER! Welcome to the SFAHS Volunteer Program! We want all volunteers to be successful in their volunteer journey, if you feel like you need more instruction, please connect with your trainers!

WHAT DO VOLUNTEERS DO?

Volunteers support nearly every area of our work. It is our goal that every pet in the shelter gets a minimum of 20 minutes of human contact daily. Studies have shown that 20 minutes of human contact daily can make a difference in the life of a pet. It decreases the pet's anxiety, which can cut down stress-related illnesses and make them 'show' better to potential adopters. Your help in the shelter can and does, make a world of difference for the animals. Click each section below for more information on the assignments.

Shelter Crew

Help with all aspects of the shelter including cleaning, giving out toys and treats, laundry, washing of dishes and litter boxes, and more. These volunteers do not handle any animals, but help us keep the shelter clean!
You can help with trail maintenance, mowing, weed picking, poop clean up, cleaning windows, and general Handy-Man jobs!

Dog Walking

Dog walkers come to the shelter starting at 7am and help our kennel staff take each dog out for Potty breaks and enrichment training.

Morning breaks are usually between 7am- 10am as kennel staff is cleaning and the animals are getting breakfast. Afternoon breaks is 12pm-3pm, and Evening Breaks are 3 pm-6pm. Dog walkers are welcome to come at anytime to help with breaks.

You will be trained to walk the dogs in a specific way, that every volunteer and staff member is taught for consistency and to help with training. Please be aware that most of the dogs at SFAHS are medium to large sized dogs, you must be physically able to walk dogs that may jump, pull, be new to leashes, or timid.

Volunteers that complete more levels of Enrichment Training will be able to walk different levels of dogs.

For example, volunteers that have completed:

Basic hands on training + Green level enrichment are " Green level volunteers", They can only walk dogs with the Green Dot on their cards.

Orange level volunteers have completed more training, therefore can walk dogs that are harder to handle, the Orange-Dot dogs along with the easier Green Dot Dogs.

Blue level volunteers are the most advanced, so they may walk orange, green and may be assigned to work with fearful, hard to walk, or behavior modification dogs.

Critter Cuddlers

Work with the small animals so they stay socialized while at the shelter. Small Animals include: Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Rats, Mice, Hamsters, Birds, Lizards, Snakes, Reptiles, and MORE. It is required that you have experience with the breed of animal before interacting.

Cat Socialization

Work with the cats so they stay socialized while at the shelter.

Basic hands on training + Green level enrichment are " Green level  volunteers", These volunteers can handle most cats in Cat adopt

Orange level volunteers have completed more training, therefore can handle and do training with cats that are harder to handle, You also get an inside look into cat personalities.

Blue level volunteers are the most advanced, These volunteer can help the front office matchmaking with adopters!

Event Hopper

You will help with event preparations including mailings, donations, errands and distribution of marketing materials. Any volunteer can sign up to help at events!

Shelter Ambassadors**

Ambassadors are volunteers who help us at our public events, or outings when a staff member is not available. You are representatives of the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society. It is required that you know basic facts about the shelter, are reliable and have a positive attitude. These volunteers must complete Tour Guide Training, and volunteer at SFAHS events. If the volunteer wishes to take a dog out of the shelter for enrichment they must complete Blue Level ( Most Advanced) Training.

Bath Buddies**

Are you a groomer that wishes to donate your time? We are interested!

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(**These positions may require extra training sessions)

PLEASE BE AWARE that the SFAHS is a busy working environment, where pet allergens, cleaning agents and high noise levels exist. Critters may jump on you, leave muddy paw prints, and could scratch or bite. Although not all jobs require hands-on involvement with shelter animals, you will almost certainly be working near dogs, cats, and other small animals. Volunteering is not recommended if you have animal allergies.

ON BEHALF OF THE STAFF AND THE ANIMALS, THANK YOU, WOOF AND MEOW!

Become a Volunteer

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