Opportunities From: Humane Society of Charlotte

This shift is done at the same time as the volunteer shift. You will be trained by a lead volunteer to show you how to use the retail software to help check people out. The full description of this role is below. 

This role helps to maintain our retail and cat café along side one of our Customer Service Representatives.  We want to make sure visitors are taken care of efficiently, and volunteers will help us do just that!

Duties Include:

Looking for volunteers who are eager to welcome people, and provide them with the support/information they are looking for. Must be able to work on your feet for most of the shift. Training is provided on-site and no prior experience is necessary!

General description of the duties/work: This position is for volunteers interested in enriching the lives of our shelter animals during their stay at HSC! Enrichment is a crucial element in maintaining the welfare of both dogs and cats and provides different activities for them to engage in throughout the day. In this training session we will go over the importance of enrichment, learn different forms of enrichment available at HSC, observe and discuss basic animal behavior and body language, and review the procedures for distributing various enrichment items.

Please review these documents:

1. Shelter Enrichment Guide

2. Cat Enrichment Schedule

3. Dog Enrichment Schedule

Location: Volunteers can meet their trainer in the front lobby.

Qualifications: Must not have any allergies towards peanut butter.

Description:

HSC’s Shelter Dog Training program is dedicated to teaching shelter dogs foundational training skills to improve their quality of life, lower their length of stay, and give owners a head start on their training journey. ​To do this, we’ve been conducting monthly dog training classes with shelter dogs as the students, staff members as the handlers, and the Behavior Team as the instructors. We are now opening up this program to volunteers to increase the benefits we are seeing with our shelter pups!

This training shift will take place in the Admin conference room (Door to the right of the Donor Wall in Adoption Lobby - Ask front desk if unable to find. Door will be propped open for you!) and is a 1.5-hour long presentation on the history and foundations of Dog Behavior and Dog Training to help prepare you for our Shelter Dog Training Classes.

We’ll be discovering how dogs think, learn, and interact with the world around them, and how we can utilize this information to influence and modify dog behavior using a reward-based training system.

Training Expectations:

-Must be a Qualified Dog Walker

-will not be taking dogs out for this training shift

-participants do not need to bring anything

-after the shift is complete, participants will be able to sign up for the Shelter Dog Training classes on the volunteer portal.

HSC’s Shelter Dog Training program is dedicated to teaching shelter dogs foundational training skills to improve their quality of life, lower their length of stay, and give owners a head start on their training journey. ​To do this, we’ll be conducting weekly dog training classes with shelter dogs as the students, volunteers as the handlers, and the Behavior and Training Team as the instructors.

This shift we will be taking out our shelter dogs for a hands-on training class! The content of the classes will change depending on a variety of factors such as our current shelter population and their personalities/behavior concerns so be prepared for anything! Generally, classes will consist of teaching dogs basic communication skills (such as Come), working on minor behavior concerns (jumping on people for attention), or potentially some confidence boosting exercises!

Training supplies such as treat pouches, treats, clickers, etc. will be provided but you are welcome to bring your own.

Location: 

Meet in adoption lobby

Training Expectations:

-Must be a Qualified Dog Walker

-Must have completed the Shelter Dog Training Prep Class

-will be taking out dogs for this shift

Help our Customer Service team from the comfort of your home virtually! This role helps to clarify, log, and maintain efficient responses to patrons calling into the shelter.  With your help, we can transcribe and transfer messages faster to the correct department and provide better overall customer service.

When completed you will be asked to email the log to customer service immediately upon completion. 

Duties: Volunteers will call into our voicemail system from home and transcribe the voicemail information into an excel document to then share with the Customer Service Team via email.

**Please click HERE to read the directions for this position. If you have any questions please email: customerservice@humanecharlotte.org **

Help our Customer Service team from the comfort of your home virtually! This role helps to clarify, log, and maintain efficient responses to patrons calling into the shelter.  With your help, we can transcribe and transfer messages faster to the correct department and provide better overall customer service.

Duties: Volunteers will call into our voicemail system from home and transcribe the voicemail information into an excel document to then share with the Customer Service Team via email.

**Please click HERE to read the directions for this position. If you have any questions please email: customerservice@humanecharlotte.org **

Help our Customer Service team from the comfort of your home virtually! This role helps to clarify, log, and maintain efficient responses to patrons calling into the shelter.  With your help, we can transcribe and transfer messages faster to the correct department and provide better overall customer service.

Duties: Volunteers will log into our voicemail system from home and transcribe the voicemail information into an excel document to then share with the Customer Service Team via email.

**Please click HERE to read the directions for this position. If you have any questions please email: customerservice@humanecharlotte.org **

Does organizing and cleaning something you enjoy, does it spark joy? Then this is the role for you!

The Shelter Organizer role ensures HSC’s daily operations are running smoothly and allows us to make the greatest impact on the animals in our care. This position will work with the Animal Care Team on laundry and laundry room organizing (Shelter laundry room is found near cat intake room). This position reports to the adoption lobby when arriving! 

This role is fluid in nature and one of the most helpful to our team and animals. This is a 'back of the house' role that includes laundry duties and cleaning. 

Help Make Our Summer Camp a Success!

Join us in creating an amazing experience for children ages 5–15! Campers enjoy a safe, engaging environment where they can learn about animals, animal welfare, kindness, and empathy—all while having a ton of fun! This opportunity will require one additional training prior to the start of camp.

As a volunteer, you’ll:

Assist with camper check-in and check-out

Help guide activities and lessons

Support setup and clean-up

Assist staff with camper behavior management as needed

We have up to 20 campers each week, with 2 CITs for 6 of the 9 weeks.

Camp details:

Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Questions? Contact Tim Stumpff at tstumpff@humanecharlotte.org

Help make summer camp amazing by bringing your Animal Ambassador to meet campers!

Must be a qualified Animal Ambassador Handler

Animal Ambassador opportunities are every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday

Please register once per week so campers can meet a variety of ambassadors

Camp details:

Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Questions? Contact tstumpff@humanecharlotte.org

Our surrendering program offers compassion and support in a time of crisis. Help our Pet Help Center connect with people in need of rehoming assistance for their pet as well as request for financial assistance from the community.  This is a virtual opportunity to listen to voicemails and transcribe them to an Excel spreadsheet. The shift time is scheduled for mornings Monday through Saturday, but transcribing can be completed anytime during the day of your shift.

 **Click HERE for directions on how to complete this role! Please email surrenders@humanecharlotte.org  if you have any questions or need assistance. 

During this Orientation, we will review our main Policies and Procedures at HSC, what we expect of you as a volunteer, details of opportunities & training, and conclude the orientation with a tour of our facility! To sign up for an Orientation, you must have watched the virtual info session, passed the quiz with a score of 100%, and been contacted by the Volunteer Program Manager. 

Where: This Orientation is held in our Education Center, located at 1348 Parker Drive. 

What to expect: We will provide a detailed presentation about volunteering at HSC and will conclude with a tour of the facility. When you are volunteering with HSC, we ask that you wear our Volunteer t-shirt and name badge, which will be available for purchase during Orientation for $20, cash or credit accepted. *** If you are 16 or 17 years old, you MUST bring a parent or guardian with you to orientation.  

Additional note: Some of our Volunteer Opportunities require additional training to become qualified before being able to volunteer for specific opportunities. All Volunteer Opportunities and training procedures will be covered during the Orientation presentation. 

Love animals AND kids, want to help educate our youth in animal welfare and more?! Than this is the volunteer opportunity for you! 

Help the Youth Programs Manager in facilitating school visits, shelter tours, field trips, scout presentations and other education related programs. Attend events with your HSC evaluated Animal Ambassador to engage children of all ages in a variety of topics relating to animal welfare. This role will vary depending on the content of the topic being taught and the location of the programming (shelter setting, school setting, etc.) 

To become a Qualified YP Animal Ambassador Handler you must successfully complete the following steps: 

The evaluation team will come to an agreement on if the applicant is accepted to be an AAH and will notify the applicant of their decision within 72 hours Background checking may be required

Below is a general overview of HSC’s Youth Animal Ambassador Evaluation Process. This process should take an estimated 20-30 minutes.

At any point, the animal cannot show signs of aggression, fearfulness, extreme stress or anxiety or else they are considered unqualified for the position. Aversive equipment such as shock collars (a.k.a. e-collars); pinch/prong collars; and choke collars are not permitted at any time.

In addition, the use of inhumane and forceful training methods, including but not limited to shocking, hitting, alpha rolling (pinning a dog down using force), and hanging from the collar are absolutely not permitted.

 The handler may have a treat pouch and give the dog treats during the process; however, the handler cannot use treats to lure or distract the dog in any way. Treats can only be given after a part has been completed and must be out of sight at all times. Any sound producing items (such as clickers or beepers) are prohibited.

Head halters, slip leads and retractable leashes are prohibited. Harnesses are allowed as long as they do not restrict the dog’s movement in any way.

The animal must be at least 6 months old, up to date on all vaccinations, house-trained and have known history of socialization with people. There are no breed, gender, or age limit restrictions. Any animal with a bite history is not eligible for the program; however, exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis dependent on the reported injuries, details of the incident, and steps made to prevent future incidents.

If the animal does not pass the evaluation process, they are permitted to try again after a period of two-four weeks, depending on the reason(s) the animal was not qualified.

Evaluation is completed at The Humane Society of Charlotte by The Behavior and Training Team. Parts of the tests are done both indoors and outdoors, weather permitting. The handler is not permitted to have a helper during the evaluation and must complete it on their own. During some parts of the evaluation, the evaluator will require the assistance of a helper/helpers. These helpers can be HSC staff members and/or HSC volunteers.