Many children want to experience what it’s really like to roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty at the animal shelter! That’s why we offer the MSPCA at Nevins Farm Family Service Day program, where adult-child pairs are able to participate as hands-on volunteers at the MSPCA. Suited for children ages 5-15, families can expect to participate in animal care chores (such as cleaning cat cages, cleaning small animal cages, walking dogs, or mucking horse stalls) and shelter support chores (such as dishes & laundry, taking out trash, or sorting donations), as part of their day. We provide a fun and educational opportunity for families to make a meaningful contribution to the MSPCA’s animal care efforts. All chores are fully supervised by trained staff and volunteers to make sure that everyone has a fun and safe experience.
Details:
- The program is held one Sunday a month, from 9am-11am from September – June.
- Each pair is defined as a child and a parent/guardian (age 16 or older). For families with more than one child, each child should have a guardian (defined as a person at least age 16 or older), and each child must be registered separately. This is to ensure that the program is not over registered, and there are enough chores, animals, and staff to support the volume of participants.
- The program registration fee is $20 per pair.
- Families should plan on working with whatever animals are in need of the most help on the day of the program. We cannot guarantee that certain types of animals will be at the shelter, or part of the program that day.
- We will do our best to try to accommodate participants with allergies, however, if you absolutely cannot work with certain types of animals, you may end up spending more time doing support chores if we do not have a volunteer to help you with a different animal. Many children and adults with mild allergies to hay or animal dander are able to successfully participate in our programs.
- We are occasionally asked if children younger than the recommended age of 5 years can participate. We recommend that those children participate in the programs we have that are designed for their age, however, we have made exceptions in the past – parents should understand that younger children may not be able to perform some of the tasks independently, and that the child needs to be registered and have an adult to help them at all times.
- Please contact us at humaneeducation@mspca.org or call 978-687-7453 x6108 if you have additional questions about the Family Service Day Program.
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