Volunteer Opportunities

Being a volunteer is extremely rewarding, educational, fulfilling and fun. You can have a huge impact on the lives of the animals waiting for permanent homes.

Because of our volunteers, cats are socialized daily, their environment is cleaned daily, they are medicated when needed, the shelter is organized and stocked, they are showcased at the adoption events and photos are posted on the web & Petfinder.com. Sick, injured and shy cats are cared for in foster homes. And most importantly, cats that would most likely be euthanized are saved!

Join the team that is saving lives today and tomorrow.

Office & Retail Store: Includes customer assistance in pet supply sales, phones, pet adoptions, and general pet care. Prefer adults with animal experience & light computer skills. Must be able to commit to at least one day a week from 12-5 or 12-6 except Sundays. And also have a willingness to learn. Training is required & provided.

Data Entry: Enter donor and adoption information. Good typing skills a must. Training required & provided.

Clean Team: Requires about 3 hours one mornning a week performing duties to ensure a clean and healthy environment for the cats. Sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, liter box scooping, food/water, clean cat trees, etc. Some light lifting. If you cannot commit to one day a week, you may want to be a substitute cleaner who fills in when a regular cleaner cannot come in. Training required & provided.

Afternoon Housekeeper: Help with laundry, dishes, cleaning: bathroom, counters, doorknobs, cabinets, and refrigerator. Other light cleaning.

General Handyperson: Perform a variety of "fix-it" jobs around the shelter: painting, carpentry, plumbing or electrical, etc.

Yard Maintenance: Mowing the lawn once a month, weeding, trimming, etc.

Weekly Outside Clean-up: Put clean litter boxes away, scrub down cat trees, clean outside hutches, sanitize used carriers, organize storage shed, boxes and carriers.

Medical Team: Under the direction of the Medical Team leader, assist with monitoring and caring for sick or injured animals. Includes giving meds, vaccinations, fluids, forced feedings, health record maintenance, light computer input and general care. Prefer some experience with animals & a willingness to learn. Training required & provided.

Foster Care: Provide a temporary home to cats, kittens, dogs or puppies. May include bottle-feeding, medicating, transporting to vets, etc. Training & quidelines provided.

Pet Pal: Adults needed to spend 1-2 hours a week at the shelter socializing with shy, in-coming cats, or those who need special attention before adoption. Provide light grooming, brushing, clean eyes/ears, flea control, feedings, weighing, and noting behavior and health. Training required & provided.

Adopt-A-Pet Events: Weekend help at various locations, displaying kittens/cats for adoption in our adopt-a-pet van. Good people skills

Adopt-A-Pet preparations: Help prepare and load the van with litter, food, water, beds, and cats. Or help with unloading the van at the end of the event.

Farmers' Market: Be part of a team that takes turns showing our animals for adoption at the Cambria Farmers' Market on Fridays from 2-5:30 pm. Must be outgoing and have a car to transport cats to & from the market. Light lifting. Training provided.

Transporting: Transport animals to and from veterinary appointments. (Note: vet appts. are usualy in Los Osos.) Or transport animals to Adopt-A-Pet events (Note: Licensed & insured drivers with clean driving record).

Fundraising/Events Committee: Work with committees to help plan events and/or work at events. Email access necessary. Help needed year-round.

Marketing: Some experience preferred. Promote HART in the community of Cambria, surrounding communities & the media. Promote community awareness of pet overpopulation & adoption first. Network with other organizations & groups to promote adoptions.

Grant writing: Grant writing & research experience a must. Resources available through the Nonprofit Support Center in SLO, Santa Maria & Santa Barbara.

Graphic Art Work: Assist with newsletter, design fliers and posters for upcoming events, signs for retail store.

Photographer: Using our digital camera (or your own), take photos of our cats for our website or pictures at HART events and fundraisers.

Trapping: Help trap feral or stray cats to be spayed or neutered then returned to their original location or placed for adoption. Training required & provided.

Emergency Evacuation: Must live in Cambria or close by. Be available to assist in evacuating the shelter in an emergency, may be called to help at any hour of the day or night. Might include temporarily housing cats if needed. Training provided.