Community Outreach Program Description:
At the core of our Community Outreach programs is the belief that people and pets belong together. While our adoption programs work to bring people and pets together, our Community Outreach programs work to keep people and pets together. We strive to achieve this goal by offering affordable and accessible animal care resources to pet owners and caretakers in underserved communities.
The MSPCA at Northeast Animal Shelter is seeking volunteers who are outgoing, friendly and love to meet new people, listen and problem solve. Our community engagement volunteers’ primary role will be to join outreach staff in going door-to-door or assisting in a Mobile Pantry/Pop-Up in specific neighborhoods to share information about our program and provide needed resources. Number of hours per week will range from 5-30 hours depending on weather and events.
We are looking for volunteers to assist with the following assignments. Please specify which assignment you would be interested in when you fill out the application.
**HIGH NEED** Pet Food Bank: One of the most impactful ways to keep pets in their homes is to assist families with pet food and supplies. We deliver weekly to 3-4 human food pantries a week, and provide pet food to families who contact us directly for assistance. This volunteer position would be 5-10 hours per week. Responsibilities would be to work with the Community Outreach Manager on fulfilling individual pet food requests and contacting requestors when their food is ready to be picked up; pulling food from the CO shelves in preparation for the delivery to the human food pantries every Tuesday, and organizing scheduled home deliveries. This position could be for one individual or more than one to break up the tasks. If someone prefers data entry (we have to track the amounts of food we give out along with individual’s information), someone else could be pulling the food from the shelves and organizing pickups. We also deliver to homebound seniors and a small group of Revere residents, so would need to coordinate with other volunteers on availability for deliveries.
Responsibilities and Requirements:
- Ability to lift bags of dog/cat food (average size 15-30 lbs)
- Working knowledge/or willingness to learn Cognito (web based program) and Pets For Life Database
- Engage with pet owners in a polite and patient manner.
- Ability to work independently and communicate with CO manager and other volunteers.
**HIGH NEED** Data Entry: Volunteers needed to assist CO with data entry. We utilize a website designed by the Human Society of the United States to better serve our clients. Responsibilities would be entering new clients into the database, updating their information, and entering the number of meals provided into our spreadsheet.
Responsibilities and Requirements:
- Ability to learn web based programs Cognito, Acuity and Pets For Life software
- Organized and strong communication skills
- Comfortable communicating to a team of other CO staff members
- Available 2-5 hours per week with the ability to work remote.
Community Engagement: Seeking volunteers who are outgoing, friendly and love to meet new people, listen and problem solve. Our community engagement volunteers’ primary role will be to join outreach staff in going door-to-door or assisting in a Mobile Pantry/Pop-Up in specific neighborhoods to share information about our program and provide needed resources. Number of hours per week will range from 5-30 hours depending on weather and events.
Responsibilities and Requirements:
- Must be 18 years or older
- Must have an outgoing and friendly personality
- Spanish, Portuguese, Creole and Khmer skills are a plus!!
Transportation: Volunteers needed for help with transport of supplies to food pantries and other human service organizations, and with the transport of owned animals. Number of hours per week will vary depending on need, but can range anywhere from 2-20 hours. Times and locations will vary, and we understand not all transport volunteers will be able to transport long distances.
Transports of food and supplies depend on open hours of the receiving organizations. Currently we deliver weekly every Tuesday to local Human Food Pantries between 10am-12pm. Volunteers would need to drive an MSPCA Van and drop offs are in Salem, Peabody and Lynnfield.
The most common transport of pets will be to and from veterinary appointments and surgery. Duties include ensuring owners sign medical and transport consent forms upon pick up, and returning paperwork and supplies to shelter or owner as needed. For safe confinement in the vehicle, most animals will need to be in carriers or crates. Crates will be provided by the MSPCA. Morning transports may start around 7:30 AM, afternoon transports may start around 3:00 PM. NEAS Community Outreach offers transportation to NEAS for surgery for Lynn and Salem residents primarily. We also have volunteer opportunities to drive pets to clinic appointments at MSPCA Nevins/Methuen and MSPCA Boston for sick care appointments or surgery.
Responsibilities and Requirements:
- Must have your own car and valid driver’s license/insurance
- Willingness to engage politely and patiently with pet owners in our community.
- See time commitments in the description above.
Veterinarians: Need for wellness exams, reactive treatment, and vaccine clinics are rapidly increasing and we need Massachusetts licensed veterinarians to help out! Depending on the vet’s availability and level of comfort, duties could include house visits, appointment-only wellness exams, and vaccine clinics (roughly 5 per location per year).
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