The Humane Society of Ventura County is very lucky to have a diverse group of volunteers to work with our animals. For over 15 years, participants from The Arc organization have been coming to the Shelter to spend time with the dogs and cats and it is a wonderful experience for the animals and the volunteers.

The Arc is a community-based organization advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. Once or twice a week, a small group of Arc participants and their group leader come to the Shelter to spend time in the cat and kittens rooms as well as walking down through the kennels to see the dogs. A few volunteers also enjoy walking the dogs around the grounds!

Several times a year, the participants go around Ojai and Ventura and put up flyers for our upcoming events. This not only helps the HSVC with advertising it also allows the participants to learn valuable social skills and helps them interact with the community.

We are honored to work with The Arc for the benefit of the animals as well as their program participants. The participants always come in with a smile and leave with an even bigger one. Their enthusiasm is contagious and always has the staff smiling right back.

The Humane Society of Ventura County’s volunteer program welcomes any organization to contact us about joining our volunteer program. Our junior volunteer program is from ages 10 to 15, with an adult present, and our regular volunteer program starts at just 16. We welcome groups to contact our volunteer coordinator Amanda Volden at (805)646-6505 x110 or by email at Volunteer@hsvc.