Volunteer Opportunities
Please review the Volunteer Positions available in each Department. Once you identify a position that fits you best, please fill out the Volunteer Application. Due to the large number of applications received, only individuals that match our current needs will be invited to attend a General Volunteer Orientation. Please remember that ALL volunteers will be asked to complete and pay for a background check for the safety of all people and animals in our building. We encourage EVERYONE to check out our Other Ways to Help.
Please note that a six month commitment is suggested to join the Volunteer Program.
IMPORTANT: As of September 2010, all NEW volunteers must be 18 years or older.
Adoption Department • Development/Clerical • Kennel Assistance • Vet Tech Assistance • Humane Education • Cat Socialization • Dog Walking • Foster a Pet
Adoption Department
**IMPORTANT**All Adoption Department volunteers MUST commit to at least one day a week during open adoption hours. M-F 1-5, Weekends 12-5. This is important so that the Adoption Department Manager can have a set schedule in place and depend on the much needed volunteer help!
Entry-Level Adoption Counselors: greet adopters, go through the Meet Your Match process and surveys, give tours and train to do full adoptions in the future. Must be fully committed, reliable and plan to continue working with the organization in the future as this position will require a lot of shadowing/training.
Concierge of Matchmaker Central Adoption Desk: answer phones, take messages, make photocopies of surveys, hand out surveys, greet public and guide them to where the animals are-reminding them of adoption floor rules, keep a sign-in sheet for new visitors on busy days so they can assign an adoption counselor to all adopters in a timely manner
Adoption Area Greeter: stand by Adoption Desk and start to hand out the new surveys for those who have visited on any given day, general Adoption Department assistance.
Floor “Monitors”: We are in need of a few people to tour the adoption floor, both dog and cat side, during open adoption hours. The dogs and cats get stressed with too many people sticking their fingers in the holes, touching the glass, and even opening the doors to take the animals out without permission. For the animals and public’s safety we would like to have this monitored so that the Adoption Department can focus on getting the animals adopted faster!
Adoption Outreaches: Help with PetsMart and Petco adoption outreaches, where we bring our dogs and cats every weekend. Periodically, we hold Adoption Events at places like Sickles Market and Atlantic Farms. Adoption Outreaches require transport and handling of dogs, help with cats, clerical help etc. Please come to a volunteer meeting if you are interested in helping out with adoption events and help get our animals loving homes!
Development/Clerical
Data Entry: 1-2 days per week, preferably in the morning. 3 hour commitment per day. Must be conscientious and detail oriented. The ideal candidate should enjoy balancing bank statements.
Office Assistance: 1-2 days per week, 2 hour commitment per day. Help administrative staff with copies, updating volunteer data base, making ID badges, miscellaneous clerical help.
Kennel Assistance
Cleaning cat side of Adoption Floor: Mornings at 8:30am to approximately 10:30am. Must commit to one steady day per week at least. Must be willing to clean litter boxes and handle cats.
Afternoon cat help: Approximately 1:30-3. Feed cats on Adoption Floor. Help clean cat cubbies and gazebos. Must be willing to clean litter boxes and handle cats.
Pet Store Attendant: The MCSPCA has cats for adoption at Ocean Township and West Long Branch Petsmarts as well as Eatontown Petco. We are in need of steady morning help to clean the cat cubbies and help socialize the cats/kittens. Must commit to at least one steady day per week at one of the pet stores. Shift would begin at 8:30am and take approximately 1-2 hours.
Laundry: We always welcome steady help with the laundry as we strive to keep our facility as clean and germ free as possible! All bedding and towels must be washed daily.
Vet Tech Assistance
Stocker/Inventory Taker: This person would help the vet techs order supplies more efficiently. Must be able to commit to at least 2 days per week in 3 hour shifts or 3 days a week in 2 hour shifts.
Data Entry: Help vet techs with medical record input into data base. Requires computer literacy, good spelling and grammar. This is a morning position. Person must come at least one day per week for at least 2 hours between the hours of 8:30 and 11:30. We are looking for help with this 3 days per week, so it can be one person if possible or 2-3 different people.
Surgery Coordinating /Tech Room Cleaner: Help get the shelter animals over for surgery to the clinic, help with paper work for surgery, update the surgery board, and help out cleaning the tech room for that day. This position is needed 4 days per week. Volunteer must commit to one full day per week at least.
Vet Tech Assistant: Must have some Vet Tech experience and be able to come in on a steady basis to train with the department in a volunteer capacity.
Animal Transport: Our vet tech department has created a wonderful program called “Pearly Whites”. Many local vets have agreed to donate dental exams to our animals a couple times a month. There are also local vets to have agreed to help us with spaying and neutering and other various medical treatments. Most of the appointments are in the morning on week days. We are in great need of volunteers who would be willing to pick up the animals (usually small animals in provided carriers) and bring them to their appointment, or pick them up from the vet the next day and bring them back to us. If you have free time on week day mornings and are willing to drive at least once a week we would love your help!
Thrift Store
Customer Service: Help with sales, fitting room, organizing, light to moderate cleaning, folding, hanging, tagging, some light register work, phone skills, refilling racks and displays as well as helping out in other areas of the store as needed.
Receiving: Help with accepting, sorting, processing donations, moderate cleaning, tagging, entering donations into the computer, light to moderate steaming of clothes, washing/drying clothes, consumer product safety information awareness and helping out in other areas of the store as needed. You should be computer literate and Register-capable. It’s a plus if you have: retail experience, knowledge of jewelry, antiques or other collectibles.
Thrift store volunteers are needed in 2 hour shifts at least.
The times need are as follows:
Tues. in the afternoon is better
Wed. any time
Th. & Fri. mid day or afternoon is better
Sat. anytime
Humane Education
PAWS FOR LIFE Program: This program is for local businesses to sell our “PAWS” to customers and hang them around the establishment. People can chose to buy $1 or $5 PAWS. All proceeds go to the MCSPCA. Their job would be to reach out to local businesses and generate more fundraising opportunities. They would also be responsible for generating more locations to place donation canisters.
Outreach Team: This group of volunteers will be responsible for attending local events/stores with the purpose of providing the public with valuable information about our organization and possibly selling MCSPCA merchandise at these events. This group will meet at least every other month with the Volunteer Coordinator and Humane Education Programmer. The group will serve as a liaison between us and the public. Help to create a calendar of events that the MCSPCA might be interested in participating in. Participants must be able to represent our organization in a professional manner and feel comfortable speaking to the public and educating them about us. MUST be flexible and willing to participate in various weekend outreaches on a regular basis.
Humane Education Tour Guide: This person must be outgoing, energetic, and have the ability to speak to various different age groups and have general knowledge of our shelter. Training will be provided. Previous teaching experience a plus! Must be available between 2:30-5:30 on various week days that are scheduled in advance.
Cat Socialization
Love cats? Come by and play with the many cats at our shelter, so they do not forget what it is like to be petted or handled by loving people! Our cat socializers are categorized into 3 levels. Each level requires a certain amount of shelter volunteer hours and a training class to move to the next. Once you become an advanced cat socializing volunteer you can help with our tougher cases such as our feral kittens and cats that are not used to human contact. This is especially important to make them ready for adoption! At this time we are in need of more advanced cat volunteers. We ask that you only apply if you are able to spend a minimum average of 4 hours per week volunteering.
Check out this video highlighting the joys of volunteering with cats.
We are also always in need of kitten and cat fosters. Please see our foster a pet link for more information!
Dog Walking
Any time spent outdoors is a great time for our dogs. Are you an experienced dog handler? Please consider helping our dogs by getting them out and getting some exercise for both you and the dog! Our dog walking volunteers and split into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Each level requires 30 hours of dog walking and an extra training class to move onto the next. At this time we are in need of more intermediate and advanced dog walkers. We ask that you only apply if you are able to commit to an average of 4 hours per week for at least 6 months. We promise it will be well worth your time to help our dogs while they wait for their forever homes!
Please note: Becoming a dog walker requires a volunteer orientation which is held monthly, background check and dog walking orientation. Volunteers are required to purchase their own leash and treat bags which are available at our facility for purchase after orientation.
Foster a Pet
As a Foster Pet Parent volunteer, you are providing an invaluable service for the animals in your care. The experience is rewarding for both animal and foster parent alike!
Most of the animals fostered are tiny kittens who would not survive without a foster parent or cats that are stressed and need some time away from the shelter environment. A little TLC can go a long way!
We also sometimes need medical fosters for dogs and cats as well as behavioral fosters. We find that the animals have a greater shot at being adopted faster if they can be observed in a home setting and get to spend some one on one time with a special human willing to help them along their journey to a forever home.
Fill out our Foster Agreement.
Read a wonderful article by Steve Charnick on The Rewards of Pet Foster Care.
