DAWS: Danbury Animal Welfare Society: Volunteer

Danbury Animal Welfare Society: Making a difference one volunteer at a time

Volunteers primarily operate the Danbury Animal Welfare Society shelter. Volunteering even a few hours a week makes a big difference in the lives of animals in need! We have a variety of volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups who want to get involved.

All of the following activities, and more, are performed strictly by volunteers: training and exercising our dogs, cat socialization and grooming, cat trappings and rescue, shelter animal transport to and from the vet and adoption counseling. We also have marketing, fundraising and maintenance opportunities for those who do not wish to work directly with animals but still want to make a difference. Please review our list of Volunteer Opportunities.

Due to insurance restrictions, we cannot allow volunteers under 18 years of age to work directly with our animals. Please review our Youth Volunteer Opportunities to see how young people can help. To schedule a youth group tour of our facility, please contact Hillary Taylor, DAWS Youth Volunteer Coordinator at youthvolunteers@daws.org. Tours are held on select Mondays and Fridays from 6PM to 8PM.

Volunteer Requirements:

We ask that adult volunteers make a commitment to serve regularly and consistently in one program or on one committee. Regular and consistent service means completing a minimum of two, two-hour shifts per month in either the dog or cat programs or working for four hours per month on one of the committees. Further, for volunteers choosing to work in either the dog or cat programs, it means completing service on the same day each week. Volunteering on the same day each week ensures that we have sufficient help to care for our animals.

Adults must attend a General Orientation before beginning volunteer service. General Orientation is held on the third Monday of each month (unless otherwise noted) from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. at our shelter. We are located at 147 Grassy Plain Street in Bethel. Please email volunteer@daws.org to sign up!

Coming to orientation? Download and complete the volunteer application .

We are very proud of how we have grown since 1974. Since you are interested in volunteering, please view our current DAWS Organizational Structure to help you understand how our current volunteer needs fall into the overall structure of the organization. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Maintenance
Position	Description	Location	Typical Times
Plumbing Electrical Carpentry General Maintenance Painting	If you are handy, we desperately need you!!!! Several elements of our shelter are outdated and/or need maintenance and we simply don't have the funds to hire professionals to help us fix it up. If you have even a couple of hours to spend, please contact us.	Bethel Shelter	Anytime - we will work around your schedule
Cat Program
Position	Description	Location	Typical Times
Adoption Counselor	Meet and greet the public during open house adoption hours. Show the available animals and answer general adoption questions. Help potential adopters to meet their best match. Requirements: General cat knowledge, like working with people, good communication skills	Bethel Shelter	Weeknights 6-8pm Weekends 2-4pm
Cat Socializer	Work with the cats at our shelter to provide them with human companionship and grooming to make them more adoptable.	Bethel Shelter	Weeknights 6-8pm Weekends 2-4pm
Dog Program
Position	Description	Location	Typical Times
Adoption Counselor	Meet and greet the public during open house adoption hours. Show the available animals and answer general adoption questions. Help potential adopters to meet their best match. Requirements: General dog knowledge, like working with people, good communication skills	Bethel Shelter	Weeknights 6-8pm Weekends1-4pm (summer hours thru Aug. 31)
Dog Socializer - Bethel Shelter	Work with the dogs at our shelter to provide basic manners training, exercise, playtime, grooming and people/dog interaction. Requirements: General dog knowledge. Must attend basic dog handling class.	Bethel Shelter	Fri 6-8pm Sat. 1-4pm (summer hours thru Aug. 31)
Dog Trainer	Provide basic and advanced obedience training to the dogs in our shelter. This enhances their adoptability. Requirements: General dog knowledge. Must attend basic dog handling class. Work with DAWS' trainers to gain advanced training techniques and knowledge	Bethel Shelter	Weeknights 6-8pm Weekends 1-4pm (summer hours thru Aug. 31)
Dog Adoption Events	Take available dogs to adoption day events at local businesses to increase their visibility for adoption. Requirements: General dog knowledge. Ability to transport animals	Various	Various times, several times a year
Transporter	At times when space allows, we assist other shelters that must euthanize. The transporter will meet and pick up rescued dogs being transferred to our shelter. This is normally done on weekends and requires several hours of commitment. Please inquire for more details. Requirements: General dog knowledge. Ability to transport animals, ability to fit 2-3 crates in your car.	Various	Usually weekends, several times a year
Public Relations / Events / Marketing / Donations
Position	Description	Location	Typical Times
Donation Collector	We have seasonal donation/collection drives at various supermarkets in the Danbury area. Help is needed to collect donations from these bins and tote them to the shelter.	Various	Various times, several times a year
Event Assistant	Bring event box, set up table, sell t-shirts, answer basic questions from the public, show public photo book of our animals, and provide info on upcoming events.	Various	Various times, several times a year
Newsletter Crew	Help us work on our newsletter and mailings, either as a writer or someone that can help in the distribution process.	Various - can be done from home	Various times, several times a year
Walkathon Coordinators	The Walk for Animals is our largest fundraiser of the year. Planning begins in early summer. We need help with logistics, public relations, soliciting sponsorships, and more. Plenty of help is also needed the day of the event.	Various - can be done from home	June � October
Event Chairpeople - Have an idea for a fundraiser you want to lead to benefit Danbury Animal Welfare Society? Contact us at giving@daws.org and let's talk about it!
Various		Various
Videographer and Photographer	Are you part of the Youtube craze? We are looking for videographers for projects including videos of our animals, creating a video montage of our shelter, and more!	Various	Various

Adopt a Dog

Adopt a Cat

Volunteer

General Orientation is held on the third Monday of each month from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. at our shelter.

Upcoming Sessions:

August 16th
September 20th

October 18th

Save some time - download and complete the volunteer application and bring it with you.

Thank you for volunteering!!

Danbury Animal Welfare Society, Inc. P.O. Box 971 Danbury, CT 06813, phone: 203-744-DAWS, email: daws@daws.org, www.daws.org