Become a Cocheco Valley Humane Society Volunteer!

Volunteering for Cocheco Valley Humane Society

Caring for 2,500 animals every year is a huge job, and our staff simply couldn't do it all by themselves. At CVHS, we are concerned with nurturing all of our animals' needs: physical, psychological, and emotional. In order to reach this goal, we need lots of help from the animal lovers in our community. We depend on the many dedicated volunteers who assist us in caring for our guests and making them comfortable and happy. From direct animal care in the shelter, to fundraisers and special events, there is a volunteer opportunity available for everyone. Every little thing you do in the life of one of our animals makes a big difference in his/ her quality of life. Together, we can make a guest's stay a comfortable and positive experience. And in return, you get the satisfaction of knowing that you are improving the quality of life for many homeless, abused, or neglected animals. If you love animals, and are looking for a way to help the homeless pets in your area, please consider donating some of your time to Cocheco Valley Humane Society!

How You Can Get Started

In order to get started, you must complete a volunteer application. You will need to read the information below in order to complete your application.

Click here for a read-only version of the volunteer application. You will need to print it out and return to CHVS in person, by mail, or by fax.

To request a copy of the application by email or traditional mail, call the Volunteer Manager at (603) 749-5322 ext. 111 or email volunteerc@ttlc.net.

In return for your volunteer service, we promise to give you the proper training and education to make your volunteer experience valuable and enlightening. Once your application is received and approved, we will review your availability and contact you with appropriate shift choices. Once accepted, all new volunteers must attend an orientation session. At orientation, you will be given some general information about the shelter, and you will be prepared for the kind of duties you'll be performing. Orientation sessions are held monthly and prior registration is required.

Important Volunteer Policies and Guidelines

It is important the volunteers working for CVHS are knowledgeable and consistent, in order to be a true benefit to the animals and staff here. In order to facilitate this, we ask that volunteers commit to a minimum of six months of service, and one hour per week, for volunteers who wish to work in the shelter.
Volunteers must be at least 16 years old to volunteer without supervision. Volunteers under the age of 18 must have their applications signed by a parent or legal guardian. Volunteers aged 12-15 years may volunteer with the supervision of a parent or guardian. This parent must accompany the minor volunteer at all times while performing volunteer work or while in the shelter. Any person(s) supervising another volunteer must also attend any required orientation and training sessions.
Volunteers are prohibited from bringing their own pets to CVHS while volunteering.
All volunteers are expected to support CVHS and our mission, and to adhere to all policies and guidelines set forth at orientation and training sessions.

Volunteer Opportunities:

In-Shelter Volunteering

Office Work

Local Animal Transport

Fundraiser's and Special Events

Repairs and Groundskeeping

Adoption Marketing

Poster Bandits

NOTE: Based on positions that are currently open, you will be placed in a position according to your interests, qualifications and schedule.

In-Shelter Volunteering: Our shelter's daily operations require a great deal of work, and we need lots of volunteer help in order to care for all of the animals in our care, and to maintain the shelter itself. In-shelter volunteering involves direct animal care (cleaning, feeding and caring for dogs, cats and small animals), general shelter care (washing food dishes, doing laundry, scooping poop, etc), animal socialization (spending time with cats and small animals, and walking/ training dogs), and customer service (greeting potential adopters and answering questions). If in-shelter volunteering is something that interests you, be prepared to perform a variety of different tasks. This is a good way to spend time directly with the animals, and make the small contributions that make their lives a little sweeter.

Office Work: If you're looking for a way to help that doesn't involve working directly with the animals, consider donating your time to help us with the administrative projects that are necessary to run our organization. Although in-shelter volunteering is vitally important to the maintenance and progress of CVHS, we are also constantly working on numerous administrative projects that are just as important to the operations of our organization. We depend very much on the contributions of office volunteers to help us complete this important work. No experience is necessary, although experienced office workers are certainly highly desirable.

Local Animal Transports: Because our shelter staff is kept very busy throughout the day, they are needed to remain in the shelter caring for our guests. But our animals still need to get to and from their appointments at veterinarian offices. We rely on volunteers to drive animals in need of medical care to their appointments, or to bring them back to the shelter. Transport volunteers are given at least 24 hours of notice before a transport is needed, and crates will be provided to you to contain the animal in your own car.

Fundraiser's and Special Events: Approximately once a month, CVHS participates in special events outside of the shelter.Some of these events are fundraisers designed by our special event coordinator to raise money for the shelter, and some are events organized by outside parties that we attend in order to promote the shelter in our community and raise awareness for homeless animals. In either case, we depend greatly on volunteer help to run these events. Each of these events requires many people to perform various duties: selling retail items, answering questions for the public and handing our literature, superivising a dog at our Doggie Kissing Booth, etc.

Foster Care: Some of the animals we care for require more attention than we can offer them in a shelter environment. Some animals fare much better in a home setting than in a shelter with many other animals. Dogs and cats that are pregnant, injured, ill or suffering from behavioral problems, require a peaceful place to rest and recover, and lots of personal attention For these animals, we are pleased to be able to offer foster care, in which an animal with special needs can go to the home of a foster care volunteer for a specific period of time. If you have a little extra space in your home and your heart, consider becoming a foster care volunteer, and give animals with special needs the extra care and attention that will help them flourish.

Bingo: Every Saturday evening, Seacoast Bingo Hall in Somersworth holds a Bingo game to benefit CVHS. This is one of our most important and lucrative programs, raising tens of thousands of dollars for the shelter every years. An exciting and interesting spectacle to behold, our Bingo game is run almost entirely by volunteers, each of whom must commit to one Saturday per month. We are always in need of new volunteers to help us raise money for the animals by selling tickets, calling numbers, etc.

Humane Education: For several years, CVHS has been proud to offer Humane Education to the schools and children's programs in our area. We think it's important to educate children about proper pet care, and responsible pet ownership. This program also gives us the opportunity to teach kids about safety around animals that are unfamiliar to them. Humane Education is entirely volunteer-run, and involves traveling to area schools to give presentations to children of various ages, or leading tours at CVHS to groups of children who want to learn about the functions of a humane society. We encourage anyone who has experience with public speaking, or who enjoys spending time with children, to apply for this program and help us reach young people at a grassroots level to spread the word about the importance of being kind to animals.

RAP Animal Transport: Approximately once a month, CVHS receives a transport of puppies from a partner shelter in another area of the country.ï These transports arrive in Pennsylvania, and need to be picked up by a CVHS volunteer. The drive takes approximately 6 hours, and a new Enterprise van is provided for the trip. Once you meet the transport from the partner shelter in PA, the puppies will be transferred from crates in their van, to crates in ours. Once you return to CVHS, shelter staff will be on hand to attend to the puppies and place them in kennels, where they will wait for adoption.

Repairs and Groundskeeping: We are housed in a very old building that is constantly in need of repairs and maintenance. We are always seeking volunteers with "handyman" experience, from elementary skills in painting or organization, to more specialized skills in carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work. Additionally, the external grounds of our property are in need of year-round maintenance. We need volunteer help to keep our courtyards and outdoor areas mowed, weed-wacked, snow shoveled, and salted.

Adoption Marketing: For volunteers who are creatively- inclined, we offer an opportunity to create materials to be displayed on the cagefronts of animals that are having a hard time getting the attention they deserve from potential adopters. Creative and brightly-colored signs and cards made specifically for each animal can make the difference for a dog or cat that hasn't gotten much attention from potential new parents. These materials can be created at home, or in the CVHS office, and will incorporate information about the personality of each animal that will be provided by CVHS staff members.

Poster Bandits: Periodically, we have news or announcements to post at schools and businesses throughout the area. Before a special event, for example, we ask for help from volunteers to publicize the date, time, and specific information of the event by putting up posters at grocery stores, schools, and the like. If you'd like to help us spread the word about our latest news, contact the volunteer coordinator about becoming a poster bandit.