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: cat trappings and rescue, shelter animal transport to and from the vet, training and exercising our dogs, cat socialization and grooming, and adoption counseling. We also have several volunteer options for those that don't wish to work directly with animals but still want to make a difference. Please view our current volunteer needs. Volunteers Opportunities Due to insurance restrictions, we currently cannot have volunteers under 18 years of age working directly with our animals. We do have many other volunteering opportunities available. Please view our Youth Opportunities to see how you can make a difference. Youth Volunteer Opportunities (pdf). Volunteer Orientation must be completed before beginning volunteer service at our shelter or the Danbury Pound. Volunteer Orientation sessions are held on the third Monday of each month from 6:30 - 7:30pm at our shelter. We are located at 147 Grassy Plain Street in Bethel. Please email cherylrdaws@aol.com to sign up! Upcoming Volunteer Orientations: Oct 15, Nov 19, and Dec 17 A red asterisk (*) on a position title denotes that volunteers must be 18 or older in order to help with these tasks. 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 Several elements of our shelter are outdated and/or need maintenance and we simply don't have the funds to hire professionals to help us fix it up.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 Danbury Pound Weeknights 6-8pm Weekends 2-4pm Saturdays 11-3pm Sundays 2-4pm 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 Weeknights 6-8pm Weekends 2-4pm Dog Socializer - Danbury Pound Work with the dogs that are housed at the Danbury City Pound. The only chance for exercise, grooming, and people/dog interaction for these animals is on the weekends. Requirements: General dog knowledge Danbury Pound Saturdays 11-3pm Sundays 2-4pm 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 2-4pm 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 RSS Feed goes here