It 's National Volunteer Appreciation Week! All of us at the Humane Society of Ventura County want to send a huge THANK YOU to all our volunteers. While the shelter is still currently closed due to COVID-19, we still want to show just how much our volunteers mean to us. Everyone at the HSVC misses our volunteers and we can not wait until we are able to welcome them back with open arms.

Volunteers have always been a major part of the Humane Society of Ventura County. Our organization was originally run by unpaid community members fostering from their own homes. As we continued to grow, it became necessary to hire staff to care for the increasing number of animals. However, our beloved helpers still play a key role in what we do. Today, volunteers help to provide enrichment and one-on-one care for the dogs, cats, horses, and other animals that call the HSVC home.

It is not just walking dogs and playing with cats; these amazing people help all over the shelter. Volunteers come in daily to help clean horse corrals, feed, and fill waters. Others come in to help with maintenance, which for our 30 year or old kennels, can be quite the logistical challenge. We have animal lovers that help with data input and answering phone calls in the office. Many of our volunteers also help to answer visitor questions when they are working with the animals, such as adoption information or animal personalities. We even have dedicated helpers in our spay and neuter clinic!

Our volunteers provide a helping hand not only on our campus, but throughout the Ventura County community. We have community members that help to collect donations from donation boxes all over the county. Some of our volunteers conduct yard checks for potential dog adopters. Not to mention, our pet assisted therapy volunteers who visit retirement homes, hospice locations, and long-term care facilities with their personal pets to let the residents say hello.

We truly could not do what we do as an organization without our volunteers. These individuals bring in new ideas every day to better the care we give our animals and to help us offer more service to the community. We have big plans for our volunteers in the future.

Even though we have paused all volunteer opportunities and trainings, we still welcome those interested to contact us for more information about volunteering. Once the shelter reopens to the public, we will have several training opportunities to welcome everyone interested in volunteering. For more information, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Amanda Volden, at (805)646-6505 x110 or by email at [email protected].