Wouldn’t it be great to get school credit while doing something meaningful; something that you really want to do; something that will help animals? 

More and more schools are requiring students to perform community service hours as part of their graduation requirement. In the District of Columbia, students must complete 100 hours of community service in order to graduate.  In Montgomery County, Maryland, the service-learning requirement is 60 hours.  Those hours can be performed working in any number of non-profit agencies.   Local animal shelters and animal welfare groups are non-profit organizations and always have volunteer jobs available.

  Some school systems require that students find their own organizations; others may have a list of host agencies.   Some schools require students and their supervisors to fill out hour verification forms.  Other schools may ask supervisors to write up job performance appraisals and/or require students to submit  reflective papers discussing their volunteer experience.

 The best way to go about fulfilling a volunteer requirement for graduation is to contact your school Community Service Liaison or guidance counselor.  Then, contact your local animal shelter.  The animals will benefit from the time you serve. 

Typical volunteer jobs might include:

Hands-on Animal Positions

Dog walking

Cage cleaning

Grooming

Assisting at off-site adoption locations (pet stores, community centers, libraries)

Office Tasks Stuffing envelopes Data entry Filing Assembling animal adoption packets

Special Events

Covering a table at an information fair

Speaking to younger children about animal care

Jobs as needed at events such as DOG WALKS, BALLS, DOG OLYMPICS, FASHION SHOWS, ART SHOWS, and many other organized fund-raising opportunities.

Miscellaneous

Research projects

Writer

Web design

Local animal shelters and animal welfare groups are non-profit organizations and often have volunteer jobs available. 

Although the Washington Humane Society cannot accommodate student volunteers at the shelter, contact Humane Educator Shakela Brown to discuss other ways in which you can help the animals in the Washington D.C. area. Shakela can be reached at sbrown@washhumane.org or 202/723-2071, ext 133. 

There are also several animal sanctuaries in the Washington, D.C. area that would be happy to have you come and help care for the animals. To learn more click here.

There are also other animal groups that welcome volunteers. One such group in the Washington, D.C. area is 'Compassion Over Killing' (COK). To find out about upcoming COK events click here. 

Another group is 'DC Youngsters Against Animal Cruelty' (DCYAAC). Click here to learn more about DCYAAC.