Coastal Pet Rescue New Volunteer Orientation
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Welcome to Coastal Pet Rescue’s Virtual Volunteer Orientation! We’re always excited to have new volunteers join us, and we’re happy you’re willing to step in during this community emergency. My name is Emily, and I’m the volunteer coordinator here at CPR. Basically everyone you’ll meet through CPR will also be volunteers. In today’s orientation, we’ll give you an introduction to CPR and tell you about all our different volunteer opportunities. Coastal Pet Rescue was founded back in 2003 with the mission to save homeless dogs and cats in our community. We’re BIG on spaying and neutering pets, and all of our animals that are adopted out are fixed, up to date on shots and vet care, and microchipped before they go home to their forever families. We get our animals through owner surrenders, as well as pulling from local animal control shelters. Another part of our mission is finding the perfect Forever Family for each pet. We do this through home visits with all applicants and encouraging Meet and Greets with the family and their current pets. We also say that once a dog or cat is a CPR pet, they’re always a CPR pet. This means that if the adoption doesn’t work out, the pet is to be returned to us so we know they are safe and cared for. This also means that if a dog or cat is ill or injured, we will care for them until the end, even if they never get adopted. We have lot of different opportunities for you to lend a hand at CPR: 
Camp Pawsawhile: This is our shelter where all our animals stay until they are adopted or moved into a foster home. We have shifts twice a day, every day at camp. We have four stations: Cattery (cats and kittens), Kennels (larger dogs), Cottage (smaller dogs), and ISO (medical ward). Typically, you’ll sign up to do one station during a shift. Fostering: This is where you take a dog or cat into your home until they get adopted. CPR provides everything: food, meds, crate, etc. and you just provide the love! You’ll also be their advocate, by taking them to adoption events and promoting them any other way you can think of. We also have short-term foster opportunities available, such as during extreme weather or when permanent foster parents go on vacation. Events: We have adoption and fundraising events at Camp and at various businesses and venues in the community. We’ve had everything from Yappy Hour to Puppy Yoga. You can help at events by handling a dog or cat from camp, or by educating the public on adoption or becoming a volunteer. Photography: We always need more pictures and videos of our pets for their adoption profiles, and could also use photos of our volunteers for promotional materials. Social media: We can use help with our Instagram and Facebook accounts. You can also share our posts so we can reach more people. Fundraising: We need money not just for pet food and meds, but also to pay our electric bill and get cleaning supplies for camp, amongst other things. If you have fundraising ideas or skills, we’d love your help! Design: We need your artistic skills for designing updated promotional materials, shirts, website graphics, etc. Admin: CPR must keep up records to report to various entities such as the state and grant funders. We can use help filing, organizing, and scanning. Camp maintenance: If you’re handy, there’s always something that needs to be fixed or upgraded! Thanks to our volunteers, we’ve been able to add air conditioning and extra dog play yards at camp. 
Transport: Sometimes we need help just getting animals from our camp on the Southside to and from our vet out in Port Wentworth. Obtaining donations: Help us get items for camp and fostering, as well as for raffle prizes for fundraising events. Cleaning/organizing: It’s so important to keep camp clean, for the health and safety of both our volunteers and animals. Extra deep cleaning, or hanging out and doing laundry are always appreciated. Shelter medicine: If you have special skills through experience in vet or human healthcare, let us know. Grooming: If you have experience as a groomer (or just are brave enough to clip nails even), a lot of our animals can use the extra attention. Other: Let us know if you have other superpowers that you can use for good! For those wanting to volunteer at Camp Pawsawhile, please continue your orientation below. For all others, please use the volunteer contact form so we can get you started. For this part of the orientation, I'm going to turn it over to our director, Lisa Scarbrough.
Camp Pawsawhile is not a traditional animal shelter. We are actually a former hunting camp turned animal rescue center. As such, we are set up with a podular system, meaning that our animals are housed in multiple units throughout our campus. Cats and kittens are housed in our Cattery, dogs 25 pounds and under are in our Cottage, dogs over 25 pounds in our Kennels, and sick or infirm animals in our ISO Ward (short for isolation). When starting out as a volunteer, we recommend you learn one unit before starting another. As a new volunteer, you'll sign up using our online system, SignUp Genius. When signing up, you'll select your date and shift time and sign up as a "Shadow," meaning you will work alongside another volunteer to help you learn the ropes. We find that people learn better by doing, so we don't make you sit through videos or read handbooks before starting. What should you expect to do on a volunteer shift? Shifts are done twice a day, seven days a week, at 9 am and 5 pm. Shifts typically run about 2 hours depending upon how many hands are available to help. Volunteers are responsible for cleaning up after the pets (poop scooping in Cottage and Kennels; litter scooping in Cattery and ISO), putting out fresh food and water, sanitizing housing areas, and making sure pets are getting socialization and exercise. Cottages and Kennels have multiple play yards for the dogs to go into while their runs are cleaned, then they can be taken on walks before returning to housing. 
Some things you should note about volunteering at Camp Pawsawhile: Don't wear your best clothes and shoes. You will get dirty. We are in the woods, which is great for the pets, but there is dirt and on rainy days, mud. You may get scratched as you interact with paws and claws. We have multiple first aid kits and hand washing areas available. You may fall in love, it happens. That's why we share adoption photos on the Facebook group so everyone can share in their happy new beginnings. We don't micromanage. Everyone has a lot to do when they come to Camp, so you're on your own to sign up for your shifts and show up. We will send notices out via Signup Genius and on the Facebook group if we are short on help for a shift or shifts. We don't have a lot of formalities. There won't be monthly or quarterly required meetings though we do try and set up volunteer socials when the weather is nice or something is going on that may be of interest. Volunteers are encouraged to join the Facebook group to meet other volunteers and share in the happenings. Think you're ready to get started? Fill out our contact form and let us know when you want to start! Don't forget to print and bring your waivers with you, but if you forget, we'll have some available at Camp. |
Volunteer WaiversTo participate, volunteer waivers must be printed out, completed and brought with you for any volunteering at Camp Pawsawhile. Please download the forms here: Teen volunteers need to complete additional information from our CPR Teens program here. Volunteer Yourself! |
Thanks for your interest in joining the Camp Pawsawhile team! This portion will give you a little more insight to how our shelter works and what you can expect while volunteering.
