Volunteers play a very important role in helping the animals. Without them, we simply would not be able to do as much as we do to care for the animals, assist pet owners, and provide humane education programming. Through special events and outreach activities, our volunteers teach the community about important humane issues that affect us all, and what the APF is doing to address them. In addition, they assist in one of the most critical aspects of caring for the animals — fundraising — to ensure that resources are available to continue our work. Since the APF is funded by donations, this type of volunteer help is vital to the organization.

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Becoming a Volunteer

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer and you are at least 18 years of age, plan on coming to our next Volunteer Orientation to see what kind of opportunities are available. If you have any questions, call Jody Sitors, Volunteer Coordinator at 374-3944, ext. 118 or email jody@animalprotective.org.

Are you under 18 or do you have a child who would like to help animals? Though we don't have children volunteer on-site, there are lots of things younger people can do to help the animals on their own, with classmates, or with their scout troops.
In fact, the majority of our supply donations come from kids who care about the animals. Children have done some wonderful projects for us ranging from making cat mats for our kitties to snuggle up on to having penny drives, lemonade stands, garage sales or collecting cans and bottles and donating the proceeds.

Some Suggestions How Kids Can Help Animals

Community Service for Teens  

Are you in middle or high school and want to get some community service hours in for school credit or just have an interest in helping homeless animals? We receive many calls from students interested in volunteering at the shelter and though for safety reasons you can't work directly with the animals, there are many different opportunities to help animals and earn community service hours at the same time. Download a list of projects to help animals

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Volunteer Orientations

Want to find out more about volunteer opportunities? The first step is to attend our next Volunteer Orientation and find out about the APF and what you can do to help. You will have a chance to find out about current opportunities, ask questions, meet some staff and take a tour of the facility. It's a great way to see if this is a good fit for you!

2010 Scheduled Orientations at the APF

• Wednesday, January 13th at 6 pm
  Please call our volunteer coordinator, Jody Sitors at 374-3944, ext. 118 and let us know if you are planning on attending.
• Wednesday, March 24th at 6 pm
• Wednesday, May 19th at 6 pm
• Thursday, July 15th at 6 pm

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Our Current Volunteer Needs

Front Desk Support - The Front Desk is the heart of the APF. We are seeking individuals with excellent customer service skills and the ability/desire to work directly with the public to support the Front Desk personnel by answering phones, greeting patrons, and assisting with Front Desk operations. The APF is open Tuesday through Saturday in the afternoons, and we need people every day at the Front Desk during hours we are open. We are also looking for people Monday through Saturday mornings before public hours to help answer phones and do miscellaneous work. This position requires a time commitment of at least two shifts per month, 2-4 hours per shift. This is the position we really need the most help with!

Computer Assistant - Seeking tech-savvy computer person needed weekly to update social networking sites and adoption portals, send current descriptions and photos of adoptable animals to multiple media and internet outlets. Knowledge of Photoshop a plus.

Data Entry Assistant - Proficient in MSW and Excel, assists inputting data, updating files and helping with mailings and other miscellaneous office tasks.

Feline Friend - Assist the APF staff in maintaining a clean and comfortable space for the cats. This involves helping with animal care, sanitation, laundry, and other morning duties in preparation for when the shelter opens to the public in the afternoon. We ask for a time commitment of at least one shift per week, any day, 9-11 am.

Fundraising Assistance - We hold several annual events like the Fireplug 500 and the Online Auction, and need people who are comfortable approaching businesses for sponsorships, monetary or in-kind donations.

Distribute Flyers and Dog Merchant Boxes - We have lots of information to get out to the community and the more people we have distributing, the better! We also place Dog House Coin Collection boxes out at various businesses and are always looking for more placements.

Pet Food Pantry -  We are partnering with the Schenectady Inner City Ministry (SICM) by collecting pet food for them to distribute to those who are going through difficult economic times. We are looking for committed people who can help us with this program by obtaining pet food donations from groups and businesses, picking them up and bringing them to the shelters.

On-line Auctions - Many charities currently offer items for sale year-round on Ebay and have been quite successful. We are looking for someone who would be interested in setting this up and overseeing the site for us. Sound like something you would like to do? Please talk to us about it!

Other Ways to Help - Your specialized skills can also be put to use for a particular project. Are you a professional dog trainer or have you experience fostering orphan kittens? Use your best talent, such as carpentry, photography, marketing, and grant writing to help the animals. Please call Jody to explore the possibilities!

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News For Current Volunteers